National Broadcast Information

NATIONAL TELEVISION BROADCAST - ESPN

The 2022 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl will be broadcast on ESPN a year after drawing 3.37 million viewers on ABC. It is the 46th playing of the bowl, and it will be the 30th-consecutive Independence Bowl televised on an ESPN network.

The Independence Bowl Foundation and Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl announced a six-year extension with ESPN in 2020, which will guarantee that Shreveport’s postseason contest will be shown by “The Worldwide Leader in Sports” through 2025.

ESPN first televised the Independence Bowl in 1992, bringing Wake Forest’s 39-35 victory over Oregon to a nationwide audience, and the game has since become a fixture on ESPN’s “Bowl Week”. The 2009 game between Texas A&M and Georgia, won by the Bulldogs 44-20, earned the distinction of being the highest-rated and most-viewed bowl game ever televised on ESPN2 at the time, as 2,333,664 households tuned in. The 1997 Independence Bowl, which matched up LSU and Notre Dame, reached a 4.5 television rating. This marked the highest rating in the Bowl’s history. The 1998, 1999 and 2000 Sanford Independence Bowls enjoyed a rare opportunity to capture the college football audience, as those games were the only bowl games on TV in the evening time slot on New Year’s Eve. In 2014, the Independence Bowl was broadcast on ABC for the first time since 1991 and earned it’s highest rating since 2006.

Last year's 3.37 million viewers on ABC ranked the bowl in top 15 among all bowl games in viewership and highest viewership of all bowl games played before Christmas. It was the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl's highest viewership since 2014. Viewership of the 2021 game was up just over 20 percent from 2019, which was up 36 percent from 2018 – equaling a viewership growth of over one million viewers since 2018.

NATIONAL RADIO BROADCAST - Bowl Season Radio

Bowl Season and First Team Ventures joined together in 2021 to form Bowl Season Radio, which provided exclusive live national radio/audio play-by-play coverage for 18 college bowl games that season. Bowl Season Radio is back for a second season with a bigger lineup than last year.

Bowl Season Radio will air on terrestrial radio stations throughout the country, as well as Sirius XM satellite radio. In addition, the games will stream live on Tune-In, Audacy and The Varsity Network apps.

“We’re thrilled to partner with First Team Ventures to create Bowl Season Radio, giving college football fans nationwide a chance to follow some fantastic matchups,” said Nick Carparelli, executive director of Bowl Season, in 2021. “Millions of Americans are traveling and on the move during the holiday season. Bowl Season Radio gives them the chance to listen to the games and know what’s happening in college football’s postseason, whether driving cross-country or staying close to home.”

“The focus of our national radio network has always been with college bowl games,” said Mike Parsons, a co-principal with First Team Ventures. “That is what makes this partnership with Bowl Season a great fit.

“Bowl games are the greatest tradition of college football and radio is the original sports media. Bowl Season Radio is yet another vehicle for fans to follow college football’s postseason no matter where they are during the holiday season.”

“First Team Ventures is proud to partner with Bowl Season to promote the most anticipated three weeks on the calendar,” added Brian Estridge, First Team Ventures co-principal. “We look forward to bringing all of the pageantry and excitement of Bowl Season to fans with our talented team of college voices and analysts who follow the game with passion year-round.”