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UCF’s Win at USF Is the Second Most-Watched War on I-4 Ever

The Knights’ victory over the Bulls pulled in the highest rating in series history on ESPN.

NCAA Football: Central Florida at South Florida Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN’s late afternoon Black Friday telecast of the UCF Knights’ win over the South Florida Bulls delivered a 1.2 overnight TV rating, according to ESPN. That rating equaled to 1.718 million viewers, according to ShowBuzzDaily.com

While that is down from last year’s classic, it is a 140% ratings increase year-over-year in that same time slot (4:15 p.m. ET) from last year’s Navy at Houston telecast. UCF’s 38-10 win is the second most-watched and second highest-rated War on I-4 game telecast, edging out the 2013 UCF-USF game, which had a 0.8 TV rating and 1.2 million viewers on ESPN primetime Friday night.

Last year’s game delivered 4.7 million viewers and a 2.7 rating on ABC in the 3:30 p.m. ET slot.

All-Time War on I-4 TV Numbers

Year Time Slot (ET) Network Rating Viewers
Year Time Slot (ET) Network Rating Viewers
2017 3:30 p.m. ABC 2.7 4,700,000
2018 4:15 p.m. ESPN 1.2 1,718,000
2013 7 p.m. ESPN 0.8 1,200,000
2014 Noon ESPN2 0.3 447,000
2015 7 p.m. ESPN 0.2 388,000

NOTE: The 2016 game aired on CBS Sports Network, which does not make TV numbers public.