FOX, CBS, and NBC all have rights to various Big Ten games this college football season and moving forward. To bolster its Big Noon Kickoff product, FOX had the first three picks of this year's broadcast draft. With the first and second picks, FOX chose Ohio State.
The No. 1 pick was, obviously, "The Game." No. 2 was the Buckeyes' visit to Bloomington, Indiana, to take on the defending champion Hoosiers in mid-October. The No. 3 pick was Oklahoma's visit to Ann Arbor in Week 2. Matchup times for these games can be found here.
It's fair to say that Ohio State's matchup with Texas would've been either No. 3 or No. 2 if it were in Columbus instead of Austin.
When CBS was on the clock at No. 4, the Eye Network went with Oregon at OSU in early November. NBC broke ranks and went with USC at Penn State, which makes sense considering their audience has been watching the Trojans battle Notre Dame for years. That matchup is also the White Out game in Happy Valley.
Ohio State football still brings viewers like no one else
Three of the first four picks? The Buckeyes' brand value is over the moon, even after Indiana won it all. Notice the lack of USC-Indiana or Indiana-TTUN. One championship clearly doesn't make one a marquee brand. It takes years of sustained dominance.
These picks were based purely on the numbers. In 2025, Ohio State got eyeballs on any network they were on last year.
The Cotton Bowl Classic against Miami in the CFP on New Year's Eve brought in 19 million viewers to ESPN. "The Game" and the Big Ten Championship Game brought in over 18 million viewers to FOX. Texas-Ohio State brought in 16.6 million viewers to FOX.
The Buckeyes had four of the top nine most-watched games, including the two highest-rated regular-season games.
Follow the money, and you'll end up in Central Ohio.
Ohio State football carries the Big Ten in ratings
In total, SEC fanbases watch more college football than the Big Ten. Even though the conference hasn't had a team make the CFP title game in three years, the fanbases are still built in from dominating for so long, and the lack of a pro team in some cases.
Ohio State averaged the fourth-largest audience last season. Alabama, Texas, and Georgia were ahead of them. TTUN was the only other Big Ten team in the top 10.
The Buckeyes suffered because of the quantity of lower-tier Big Ten opponents on the schedule. While the bottom of the SEC, which included Florida and Auburn last year, still showed out, you didn't get that from the B1G's basement.
The Big Ten owes the Buckeyes for the carry job. And the fact that the "Shoe" is about to make up for the lack of attendance at LA Memorial Coliseum this past Saturday for USC's home opener against San Jose State.
What would the B1G do without Ohio State?
Nothing as, well, big. Or as highly-watched. That's what.
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