Hampered by a weather delay, the first game of the 2013 college football season could not match last year.
Thursday’s North Carolina/South Carolina college football game earned a 2.4 U.S. rating and 3.7 million viewers on ESPN, down 8% in ratings and 12% in viewership from South Carolina/Vanderbilt last year (2.6, 4.1M). The game was delayed in the fourth quarter due to inclement weather.
Despite the decline, the game ranks as the fourth-most viewed Thursday opener on ESPN since 1996. The network’s most-viewed Thursday opener was Arizona/Georgia Tech in 1994 (4.2M).
Later in the night, Mississippi/Vanderbilt drew a 1.9 and 2.7 million viewers — up 27% and 25%, respectively, from Washington State/BYU last year (1.5, 2.1M).
(Thu. numbers from ESPN Media Zone)
