Thought this might be of interest to some, but couldn't find a thread it fit best in, so here we are:
2025-2026 college wrestling TV numbers
- Thread starter GregPickel
- Start date
But... but... I was told PSU's dominance was bad for college wrestling and turning people away from the sport.
Might play a role:
Id have to look up the TV situation for both.
Not sure off hand.
Thanks to Cael for growing the sport. Would the iowa, Nebby, Osu , matches drawn nearly as manner viewers or been nearly as well attended had PSU attend the ND s? Had we gone there and beaten every team by 30 no one would have cared about any of those meets. Plus it gave flo and wrestlig media something to talk about and sell for 3 months. Even many on here had LL getting pinned in the OSU upset. What would this board have looked like for those 3 months? Cael playing chess for the growth of the sport. I would say someone explain it to Tan man but no way could he understand it.
Thanks for the numbers. Can we see this year vs last year or did I miss it? Also clicks on 'the net' are a huge factor as well.
A few thoughts:
1. As others have noted and as I’ve said before, people don’t want to admit it, but when it comes to sports they want to see Goliath, not David. (TBC, Goliath doesn’t mean a single Goliath - it can mean the bigger players (plural), but the bigger the better.)
2. Note the power of distribution — significantly better numbers on better platforms. (And I’d have to imagine if streaming only numbers were out there for things like nd’s they’d probably be relatively lower).
3. It’d be interesting to know what these numbers looked like compared to prior years, as well as compared to some other second tier sports, or even as compared to wbb say five years ago.
1. As others have noted and as I’ve said before, people don’t want to admit it, but when it comes to sports they want to see Goliath, not David. (TBC, Goliath doesn’t mean a single Goliath - it can mean the bigger players (plural), but the bigger the better.)
2. Note the power of distribution — significantly better numbers on better platforms. (And I’d have to imagine if streaming only numbers were out there for things like nd’s they’d probably be relatively lower).
3. It’d be interesting to know what these numbers looked like compared to prior years, as well as compared to some other second tier sports, or even as compared to wbb say five years ago.
It's obvious that the ESPN hub benefits from being offered to base subscribers by looking at the Iowa-Iowa State numbers.
I would like to know what a Penn State vs Iowa or Ohio State match would draw on ESPN.
Would you ever see a day when "2 unnamed schools" offer to meet independently and put the match up for bid for TV rights. The 2 schools would each get a cut of the pie with the remaining money going to the Big 10 and Big 12.
Kinda like football bowl games .
I would like to know what a Penn State vs Iowa or Ohio State match would draw on ESPN.
Would you ever see a day when "2 unnamed schools" offer to meet independently and put the match up for bid for TV rights. The 2 schools would each get a cut of the pie with the remaining money going to the Big 10 and Big 12.
Kinda like football bowl games .
Last time “two unnamed schools” were matched up, Flo didn’t flow!It's obvious that the ESPN hub benefits from being offered to base subscribers by looking at the Iowa-Iowa State numbers.
I would like to know what a Penn State vs Iowa or Ohio State match would draw on ESPN.
Would you ever see a day when "2 unnamed schools" offer to meet independently and put the match up for bid for TV rights. The 2 schools would each get a cut of the pie with the remaining money going to the Big 10 and Big 12.
Kinda like football bowl games .
… and oh yeah some guy hurt his ankle
Obviously way too thin to prove much of anything, and not population weighted etc, but certainly aligned toward dominance not doing harm. Same event comps up slightly, and goliaths do better than David’s.
I would bet a PSU v @OkieSt on ESPN might challenge those NCAA finals numbers.It's obvious that the ESPN hub benefits from being offered to base subscribers by looking at the Iowa-Iowa State numbers.
I would like to know what a Penn State vs Iowa or Ohio State match would draw on ESPN.
Would you ever see a day when "2 unnamed schools" offer to meet independently and put the match up for bid for TV rights. The 2 schools would each get a cut of the pie with the remaining money going to the Big 10 and Big 12.
Kinda like football bowl games .
Maybe I was discussing Rutgers vs West Virginia
