Iowa vs. Iowa State Returns to Prime Time on NBC as Cy-Hawk Rivalry Renews

The Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series resumes Saturday night, with Iowa hosting Iowa State at Kinnick Stadium in the first night kickoff between the in-state rivals in Iowa City since 2016.

Both teams enter at 1-0. The stakes in the series run in Iowa State’s favor lately: the Cyclones have taken the last two meetings and three of the past four. The last time these teams met after dark at Kinnick, Iowa rolled to a 42-3 victory — a result the No. 21 Hawkeyes would gladly replicate.

For viewers, the broadcast lands on Comcast’s Comcast-owned NBC network, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. CT. Streaming access runs through Peacock, NBC’s direct-to-consumer platform — another piece of Comcast’s media portfolio as the company continues to route marquee sports rights through both its linear channel and streaming service.

Comcast, classified in the Communication Services sector with a telecom services industry focus, saw shares trading at $25.20 in recent activity, up 0.6% from a prior close of $25.05, valuing the company at roughly $92.5 billion. The company’s Media segment — which includes NBC and Peacock — has increasingly leaned on live sports as a programming anchor, and a prime-time rivalry window is the kind of inventory networks typically use to showcase that strategy.

Game details

• Date: Saturday, Sept. 12
• Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. CT
• TV: NBC
• Streaming: Peacock

What to watch

• Whether Iowa can end Iowa State’s two-game winning streak in the series.
• NBC’s prime-time audience figures for the rivalry matchup, and how much viewing flows through Peacock versus the linear broadcast.
• Comcast’s next quarterly earnings report, which will cover NBCUniversal’s sports-driven results.

Source: original release