Regardless of a near-historic drop in attendance and a mid-game climate delay that led to a community swap, viewership for Sunday’s Orange Blossom Traditional was up from a yr in the past.
North Carolina Central’s 31-24 win over Alabama State drew a median of 686,000 viewers, Jon Lewis of Sports activities Media Watch advised HBCU Sports activities on Thursday.
That quantity was up from the 438,000 viewers who watched the 2023 recreation between Florida A&M and Jackson State, which was televised on ESPN.
Viewership for Sunday’s recreation was a notable win, contemplating the sport moved from ESPN to ESPNews forward of Sunday Evening Baseball protection following a virtually two-hour climate delay.
Whereas TV numbers might need gained from a yr in the past, attendance dipped dramatically, as 10,026 followers have been at Exhausting Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The whole was the fewest for an Orange Blossom Traditional since 9,000 attended a recreation between Florida A&M and Lincoln (PA) in 1946, although the sport was performed in Tampa. The bottom-ever documented attendance determine was listed at 3,000 when Florida A&M performed Hampton in 1937.