Despite Fox Sports 1 airing the highest-profile game of the night, ESPN pulled in solid numbers for its opening night doubleheader.
Thursday’s North Carolina/South Carolina college football game drew a 2.2 final rating and 3.6 million viewers on ESPN, down 8% in ratings and 1% in viewership from the same matchup in 2013 (2.4, 3.7M). There was no comparable early game last year.
Despite the modest decline, the Gamecocks’ win was the top draw of opening night — topping Michigan/Utah on Fox Sports 1 by a comfortable 29% in ratings and 26% in viewership (3.6M to 2.9M).
Greenville, NC, was the top market with an 18.1 rating. Birmingham ranked second with a 12.0, with Charlotte (9.7), Raleigh-Durham (8.2) and Knoxville, TN (7.4) rounding out the top five.
Later in the night, TCU/Minnesota drew a 1.7 and 2.6 million — up 13% in ratings and 8% in viewership from Boise State/Mississippi in an earlier window last year (1.5, 2.4M) but down 11% and 4%, respectively, from Mississippi/Vanderbilt in 2013 (1.9, 2.7M).
Minneapolis was the top market the Horned Frogs’ win, with an 8.7 rating. Birmingham again ranked second (8.2), followed by Dallas-Ft. Worth (5.8), Oklahoma City (5.1) and Greenville (4.9).
(Thu. numbers from ESPN)
