Big Noon Kickoff posts impressive ratings for Week 1, Dave Portnoy debut
By Derek Hryn
Published:
Saturdays belong to the BNK Boys — and the Week 1 numbers back it up.
FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff scored 3.8 million viewers in Week 1, making it the third most-watched edition in show history. It also marked the most-watched BNK broadcast ever outside of an Ohio State-Michigan matchup, showing just how far the pregame show has grown. Compared to last year’s Week 1 edition, ratings surged by an eye-popping 306 percent.
The record-setting start coincided with the much-anticipated debut of Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, who joined the on-air crew of Mark Ingram II, Matt Leinart, Brady Quinn, Urban Meyer and Rob Stone.
Portnoy’s addition fueled social media buzz and gave FOX’s flagship college football pregame show a jolt of energy right out of the gate.
With heavy-hitting matchups like Ohio State-Texas at noon last week, and Michigan-Oklahoma on deck for Week 2, FOX has positioned BNK as a real challenger to ESPN’s College GameDay.
If Week 1 was any indication, Saturdays with the BNK Boys may have just reached a different level. That said, it’ll be interesting to see if the show can maintain its huge audiences like the ever-prominent GameDay crew, over the course of a long season.
