THIS JUST IN ....

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP EARNS HIGHEST RATING EVER

In a thrilling victory, the Michigan State knocked off the Ohio State to claim the 2013 Big Ten Football Championship Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and the audience was record-setting. The 2013 Big Ten Championship Game delivered a 7.9/14 national household rating/share with 13.9 million viewers and is the highest-rated, most-watched ever for the event, surpassing the previous record set in 2011 (Michigan State vs. Wisconsin, 4.6/8 with 7.8 million viewers), according to fast national ratings issued by Nielsen Media Research. It is also FOX's highest-rated college football telecast since the 2010 Fiesta Bowl (8.2/13, 13.8 million viewers), and it is projected to be FOX's highest-rated, most-watched Saturday night since the NFL playoffs in January 2013. The 2013 Big Ten Championship Game came in +172% over last year's edition which featured Nebraska and Wisconsin (2.9, 5.1 million viewers).

FOX is projected to easily win the night in prime time (8:00-11:00 PM ET) among households, across key male and adult demographics. According to the fast nationals, the Big Ten Championship Game (8:20pm ET - 12:01am ET) delivered strong ratings in several key demographics: M18-34 (4.2); M18-49 (5.6); M25-54 (6.4) and A18-49 (4.5).

Columbus topped all markets with a huge 48.3/72 followed by Dayton (37.7/55), Cleveland (28.5/48), Detroit (26.7/43) and Birmingham (24.5/35).