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Jackson State's big 35-21 win over Florida A&M shifted the balance of power in the SWAC but drew a shockingly low viewership number on ESPNU. The game was moved up to ESPNU from ESPN+, a signal of the hype and importance of the game as it was moved to an afternoon TV window. But, per the TV Media Blog, Jackson State vs. Florida A&M drew 26,000 viewers. The number was the second worst of the weekend, only slightly ahead of the ESPNU Friday evening broadcast of Brown vs. Princeton from the Ivy League conference which drew 23,000 viewers.
North Dakota State and South Dakota State, which entered the weekend ranked in the top two spots in the FCS top 25, led FCS football television viewership with 174,000 viewers on ESPN2. By comparison, the ESPNU broadcast of Jackson State and FAMU experienced a 94% viewership decrease from their 2023 week 1 matchup in the Orange Blossom Classic, which drew 438,000 viewers on ESPN
Many HBCU fans and supporters are wondering why the number drastically decreased, particularly in comparison to the 147,000 viewers that UAPB's Friday evening victory over Prairie View A&M that was broadcasted received a couple of weeks ago. UAPB and Prairie View A&M's brand recognition doesn't match that of Florida A&M and Jackson State. Plus, the matchup between the Rattlers and Tigers was a battle between the top two programs in the SWAC and a rivalry has built ever since FAMU's entrance into the conference from the MEAC in 2021. Why was the viewership number so low?
One reason is the game's broadcast on ESPNU. While ESPNU is a cable channel, some viewers who would normally be interested in the matchup might not have the channel in their cable package. ESPNU is available in about 36 million homes per the latest numbers released by Wrestlenomics in November 2023. That pales in comparison to both ESPN and ESPN2, which are both available in about 70 million homes.
Fans who don't have ESPNU who might've wanted to watch it via the ESPN app were unable to if their cable provider didn't have the channel, as their cable provider's login credentials wouldn't give them access to to the game. An argument could be made that the game not being broadcast on ESPN+ possibly hurt viewership of the game, as anyone with an ESPN+ subscription can watch the game via their TV, phone, tablet, or computer.
The game was also broadcast at 3:30 PM, going up against significant competition in it's timeslot. Tennessee's upset of Alabama was on at the same time and drew 10.7 million viewers on ABC. Michigan/Illinois (CBS, 3 million viewers) and Georgia Tech/Notre Dame (ESPN, 1.5 million) were also on at the same timeslot.
HBCU football has a specific fan base that is drawn to the history and traditions of the institutions but an HBCU game being available on television allows for fans not as familiar with HBCU conferences an easy pathway to watch the games. If other games in the same timeslot of the HBCU games are taking away interest and the game isn't widely distributed, viewership and ratings numbers can take a significant hit.
All eyes will now be on the Magic City Classic, which will be broadcast on ESPNU on Saturday afternoon. Will it command a huge television audience, as the Magic City Classic is one of the most popular football games in the country? Or, will high attendance for the classic and the lower reach of ESPNU give it a similar viewership number to Jackson State and Florida A&M? Ratings numbers released next week will tell the full story.
