Rutgers-Cincinnati Selected for ESPN Primetime Broadcast
Nov 12 | Football
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The BIG EAST Conference and ESPN announced Saturday evening that next Saturday's game featuring No. 7/8 Rutgers at Cincinnati will be televised live on ESPN in front of a primetime audience. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. from Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Scarlet Knights are 9-0 overall and a perfect 4-0 in the BIG EAST.
Rutgers' stunning victory over Louisville Thursday night was a huge ratings success for ESPN. The Scarlet Knights last-second win, highlighted by a Jeremy Ito field goal with seconds left, averaged an 8.1 rating in New York, according to Nielsen.
It marked the highest-rated college sporting event in the New York market since measurement of college sporting events began in 2000.
The 28-25 Rutgers victory was the fifth-highest- rated sporting event on basic cable, in New York, this year.
The Louisville-Rutgers game drew ESPN's second biggest audience ever for a Thursday night game.
ESPN said Friday that Rutgers' 28-25 win was viewed by 4,642,000 households, based on a 5.0 rating.
The previous Thursday night high was Louisville's 44-34 victory over West Virginia, seen by 4,916,000 households based on a 5.3 rating.
