Ohio State mascot Brutus Buckeye fires up the crowd on Fox Big Noon Kickoff prior to the NCAA football game between the Buckeyes and the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 1, 2025. Credit: The Columbus Dispatch
By Ben Axelrod on

While the Big Ten might be college football’s best conference based on its three-year national championship streak, the SEC remains the sport’s most-watched.

One high-ranking Fox Sports executive, however, expects that to eventually change — albeit not as early as 2026.

Taking to X on Friday, Fox Sports president of insights and analytics Michael Mulvihill weighed in on a Wall Street Journal article regarding the SEC’s recent ratings dominance. But while the data makes it clear which league attracts more viewers, Mulvihill believes the Big Ten will ultimately benefit from its recent momentum.

“Takes time for perception to catch up to reality. Longtime perception has obviously been that the SEC runs CFB. After three straight B1G natties that’s changing. B1G probably won’t catch the SEC in ratings next year but this margin will close,” he wrote.

In a series of follow-ups, Mulvhill conceded that the SEC enjoys other inherent advantages beyond its reputation. According to the executive, those benefits include its current media rights deal with ESPN providing easier access to viewers and the reality that unlike the SEC, many Big Ten markets face stiffer competition from local professional sports leagues.

Still, Mulvhill is of the opinion that the gap will soon shrink.

“Having the best product on the field, which the B1G now obviously does, will help viewership but there are still going to be some meaningful structural advantages for SEC viewership,” he concluded.

Of course, Mulvihill is hardly a neutral observer here as Fox is the Big Ten’s top media rights partner. And while three straight national championships certainly gives the conference bragging rights, there’s also a line of thinking that the SEC’s ratings benefit from the perception — real or imagined — that it’s a deeper conference with more intriguing matchups from top to bottom. ESPN’s SVP of Research, Flora Kelly, would later chime in her with her thoughts on Mulvihill’s tweet (we love it!).

Bias aside, Mulvihill isn’t wrong that the SEC’s only advantage is its past reputation. And while he may be touting an optimistic view of the Big Ten’s outlook, his acknowledgement that 2026 won’t be the year the conference closes the ratings gap indicates that he’s well aware the league still faces an uphill climb.

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

View all posts by Ben Axelrod