Big Ten Network closes out record wrestling season with B1G Championships coverage, March 7-8
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by Big Ten Network
CHICAGO, Ill. – On the heels of a record-breaking year for wrestling ratings, which saw the average audience per broadcast increase +38%, BTN today announced its plans for the 2020 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. This year’s tournament features eight of the top 10 teams in the country, according to FloWrestling.
On March 7, sessions one and two will stream live on BTN+ with cameras on all mats and live commentary to accompany the broadcast. On March 8, session three, along with the third and fifth place mats, will stream live on BTN+, while the championship matches will air live on BTN and the FOX Sports app at 3:30 p.m. ET. Prior to Sunday’s championship matches, BTN will air a special 30-minute BTN Live from Piscataway hosted by Shane Sparks and featuring analysts Tim Johnson and Jim Gibbons.
BTN’s upped its wrestling coverage by +40% this season, and the average audience per regular season wrestling broadcast grew from 82,288 viewers to 113,631, an increase of +38%. Additionally, three of BTN’s top-five rated wrestling events of all time came during the 2019-20 season, including No. 1 Iowa vs. No. 2 Penn State.
Big Ten wrestling also performed exceedingly well on YouTube, where over 300 videos were posted this season. 21 of BTN’s top 25 videos (covering all sports) posted since Nov. 1 are wrestling related, and wrestling content on YouTube has delivered over 400,000 hours of watch time along with 5.9 million views. BTN’s YouTube channel has experienced a +47% increase in year-over-year views, driven primarily by Big Ten wrestling.
Across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, Big Ten wrestling delivered an additional set of strong results, accounting for over 23 million impressions and nearly 5.2 million views across 967 posts throughout the season.
All championship matches on BTN can be streamed via the web, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through the FOX Sports App. All BTN+ matches can streamed be via the web, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through the BTN+ app.
BTN’s full schedule for the 2020 Big Ten Wrestling Championships can be found below.
About BTN: A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, BTN is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With more than 1,700 events across all platforms, the 24/7 network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. The Fox Sports App is the digital extension of the Big Ten Network, delivering live games and on-demand programming to Big Ten Network customers via the web, smartphones, and tablets. Network events include football, men’s and women’s basketball games, dozens of Big Ten Olympic sports and championship events, studio shows and classic games. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation’s finest universities, including the Emmy-nominated The Journey. The network is in more than 60 million homes across the United States and Canada, including carriage by all the major video distributors, such as DIRECTV, DISH, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse, Charter Communications, Comcast Xfinity, Altice USA, Cox Communications, Mediacom, RCN, WOW!, and approximately 300 additional video providers across North America. BTN is also available through the majority of OTT providers, including AT&T TV NOW, YouTube TV, Hulu and fuboTV. For additional information, please visit www.btn.com.
On March 7, sessions one and two will stream live on BTN+ with cameras on all mats and live commentary to accompany the broadcast. On March 8, session three, along with the third and fifth place mats, will stream live on BTN+, while the championship matches will air live on BTN and the FOX Sports app at 3:30 p.m. ET. Prior to Sunday’s championship matches, BTN will air a special 30-minute BTN Live from Piscataway hosted by Shane Sparks and featuring analysts Tim Johnson and Jim Gibbons.
BTN’s upped its wrestling coverage by +40% this season, and the average audience per regular season wrestling broadcast grew from 82,288 viewers to 113,631, an increase of +38%. Additionally, three of BTN’s top-five rated wrestling events of all time came during the 2019-20 season, including No. 1 Iowa vs. No. 2 Penn State.
History of BTN’s Top-Five Regular Season Big Ten Duals (excludes postseason)
Date | Visitor | Home | Viewers |
01/31/20 | PENN STATE | IOWA | 342,955 |
02/03/18 | OHIO STATE | PENN STATE | 309,265 |
02/08/19 | PENN STATE | OHIO STATE | 260,633 |
02/23/20 | OKLAHOMA STATE | IOWA | 190,952 |
02/08/20 | IOWA | MICHIGAN | 184,375 |
*Data According to Nielsen Media Research
Big Ten wrestling also performed exceedingly well on YouTube, where over 300 videos were posted this season. 21 of BTN’s top 25 videos (covering all sports) posted since Nov. 1 are wrestling related, and wrestling content on YouTube has delivered over 400,000 hours of watch time along with 5.9 million views. BTN’s YouTube channel has experienced a +47% increase in year-over-year views, driven primarily by Big Ten wrestling.
Across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, Big Ten wrestling delivered an additional set of strong results, accounting for over 23 million impressions and nearly 5.2 million views across 967 posts throughout the season.
All championship matches on BTN can be streamed via the web, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through the FOX Sports App. All BTN+ matches can streamed be via the web, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through the BTN+ app.
BTN’s full schedule for the 2020 Big Ten Wrestling Championships can be found below.
2020 Big Ten Wrestling Championships:
Session One – March 7, 10 a.m. ET (BTN+)
Session Two – March 7, 6:30 p.m. ET (BTN+)
Session Three – March 8, 11 a.m. ET (BTN+)
B1G Championship – March 8, 3:30 p.m. ET (BTN)
B1G Championship – Third Place Mat (BTN+)
B1G Championship – Fifth Place Mat (BTN+)About BTN: A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, BTN is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With more than 1,700 events across all platforms, the 24/7 network is the ultimate destination for Big Ten fans and alumni across the country, allowing them to see their favorite teams, regardless of where they live. The Fox Sports App is the digital extension of the Big Ten Network, delivering live games and on-demand programming to Big Ten Network customers via the web, smartphones, and tablets. Network events include football, men’s and women’s basketball games, dozens of Big Ten Olympic sports and championship events, studio shows and classic games. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of some of the nation’s finest universities, including the Emmy-nominated The Journey. The network is in more than 60 million homes across the United States and Canada, including carriage by all the major video distributors, such as DIRECTV, DISH, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse, Charter Communications, Comcast Xfinity, Altice USA, Cox Communications, Mediacom, RCN, WOW!, and approximately 300 additional video providers across North America. BTN is also available through the majority of OTT providers, including AT&T TV NOW, YouTube TV, Hulu and fuboTV. For additional information, please visit www.btn.com.
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