Despite a near-historic drop in attendance and a mid-game weather delay that led to a network switch, viewership for Sunday’s Orange Blossom Classic was up from a year ago.
North Carolina Central’s 31-24 win over Alabama State drew an average of 686,000 viewers, Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch told HBCU Sports on Thursday.
That number was up from the 438,000 viewers who watched the 2023 game between Florida A&M and Jackson State, which was televised on ESPN.
Viewership for Sunday’s game was a notable win, considering the game moved from ESPN to ESPNews ahead of Sunday Night Baseball coverage following a nearly two-hour weather delay.
While TV numbers might have gained from a year ago, attendance dipped dramatically, as 10,026 fans were at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The total was the fewest for an Orange Blossom Classic since 9,000 attended a game between Florida A&M and Lincoln (PA) in 1946, though the game was played in Tampa. The lowest-ever documented attendance figure was listed at 3,000 when Florida A&M played Hampton in 1937.