The Bears' fast start has translated, already, into good ratings for their televised games, according to Crain's Ed Sherman:
↵↵Bears fans were quick to jump on the bandwagon Sunday. The game did a 28.6 rating on WFLD-Ch. 32. That translates to just over 1 million households tuning in.↵↵↵
↵The game peaked at 2:45 p.m. with a 34 rating (1.2 million households). Those are above average numbers for an early season Sunday afternoon game.
And suddenly, a game that might have been a disaster for ESPN next Monday night, the Bears against the Packers, might turn into one of their highest-rated games of the season.
↵↵Also, Sherman writes, last Saturday was a record day for the Big Ten Network:
↵↵The 11 a.m. games, which included Michigan-UMass, Ohio State-Ohio, and Illinois-Northern Illinois, averaged a 5.4 rating (680,000 homes) in eight major markets in the Big Ten coverage area, which includes Chicago. The previous record was a 5.1 set on Oct. 3, 2009.↵↵
3-0 Northwestern's home game against Central Michigan on Saturday will be one of five 11 a.m. games televised by BTN. You can use BTN's Gamefinder to find out which game is being carried on your cable system.