• Doubleheader– No. 1 Duke vs. No. 2 Michigan State and No. 7 Kentucky vs. No. 4 Kansas — Up 27% from 2016 Champions Classic 
• First Game Window Up 42% Year-Over-Year; Second Game Window Up 13% 
• College Football Playoff: Top 25 Show Averages 3.7 Million Viewers, Most-Watched Tuesday Show in its Four Year History

The 2017 State Farm Champions Classic (7 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. ET and 10 p.m. – midnight, ESPN) delivered a Nielsen total live audience of 2,820,000 viewers, the second highest viewership ever in the seven years of the annual premier early-season college basketball event. The viewership for last night’s doubleheader is up 27% from the 2016 Champions Classic and the best since 2013.

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 2 Michigan State and No. 7 Kentucky vs. No. 4 Kansas Draw Impressive Audiences
The 2017 Champions Classic first game between No. 1 Duke and No. 2 Michigan State (7 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.)  delivered a Nielsen total live audience of 2,967,000 viewers, up 42% from 2016’s first game (Kentucky vs. Michigan State). The second game between No. 7 Kentucky and No. 4 Kansas (10 p.m. – midnight) delivered a Nielsen total live audience of 2,661,000 viewers, up 13% from last year’s second game (Duke vs. Kansas).

For the Blue Devils and Spartans, last night’s viewership is the best of their three matchups at the event, besting their 2014 matchup by 20% and the 2011 matchup by 15%. All three matchups were the first game of the doubleheader.

More than 3.7 Million Viewers for the College Football Playoff: Top 25 Rankings Reveal
The College Football Playoff: Top 25 (9:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.) delivered a Nielsen total live audience of 3,785,000 viewers, the best viewership ever in the more than 20 Tuesday episodes of the show’s history and topped the previous best telecast by 25% (Nov. 17, 2015). The special, which unveiled the newest College Football Playoff selection committee’s top 25, was aired live between the two games of the Champions Classic.

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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; [email protected] and @DerekVolner