No. 1 Penn State v. No. 2 Iowa sets new Big Ten Network viewership mark with 388,000 viewers

Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes record most-watched wrestling broadcast in BTN history


CHICAGO, Ill. – For the second straight year, a dual between Iowa and Penn State set a new wrestling viewership record on the Big Ten Network. 388,000 viewers tuned in to watch the No. 1 Nittany Lions defeat the No. 2 Hawkeyes on Friday (1/27) night, topping last season’s record of 363,000 viewers between the two powerhouses.


In addition to setting a BTN record, the 2023 Iowa vs. Penn State dual is now the most-viewed regular season NCAA wrestling audience across any network in the past eight years. In fact, matchups between the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions now own the top three regular season spots, all on BTN.

Date Schools Network P2+ LiveSD
1/27/2023 Iowa at Penn State BTN 388,176

1/28/2022 Penn State at Iowa BTN 362,917

1/31/2020 Penn State at Iowa BTN 347,760


In anticipation of last Friday’s dual, BTN debuted two new On The Mat features centered on Iowa’s Spencer Lee and Penn State’s Carter Starocci.


BTN’s televised wrestling coverage continues this weekend with a Friday night doubleheader and three of the top five teams in the country competing. This weekend’s television schedule is below and all matches can be streamed live on the FOX Sports app.

Television Schedule (all times ET)

Friday Feb. 3 No. 1 Penn State At No. 5 Ohio State 7:00 PM

Friday Feb. 3 No. 2 Iowa At No. 11 Minnesota 9:00 PM

Saturday Feb. 4 No. 24 Rutgers At No. 22 Maryland 2:00 PM

Sunday Feb. 5 No. 17 Illinois At  Michigan State 2:00 PM


Four additional matchups will stream live on B1G+ this weekend, including three on Sunday. For more information on a B1G+ wrestling pass, visit bigtenplus.com.

About The Big Ten Network

A joint venture between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Networks, Big Ten Network is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. With more than 2,200 live 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. With over 1,700 events annually, B1G+ is the subscription streaming service for thousands of live non-televised games, next day on-demand archives, 14 school channels programmed 24 hours a day and access to Big Ten Network's library of previous season classics and original programming. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments from some of the nation’s finest universities, including the Emmy-nominated The Journey. The network is carried by all the major video distributors across the United States and Canada, such as DIRECTV, DISH, Verizon Fios, Spectrum, Xfinity, Optimum, Cox Contour TV, Mediacom, Astound Broadband and approximately 300 additional video providers across North America. Big Ten Network is also available through the majority of streaming providers, including DIRECTV Stream, FuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, Vidgo and YouTube TV. For additional information, please visit www.btn.com.