How Damaging Are 5 PM Weekday Games For the MEAC?

The pursuit of television money has caused conferences to take drastic measures, and the MEAC may prove this point. For the second straight season, the conference will have a game kickoff at 5 PM ET on a weekday. In fact, it will have two. ESPN will capitalize on the momentum and attention of DeSean Jackson’s first year at Delaware State by airing its game against North Carolina Central on Friday, October 23rd at 5 PM ET on ESPN2. Additionally, Howard-South Carolina State on Thursday, November 5th got a 5 PM ET kickoff but on ESPNU. #PAC12AfterDark move over for #MEACBeforeDinner.

The start time is unorthodox and controversial. To many, it signals the MEAC prioritizing satisfying a TV partner that could not care less about the conference aside from its bookending events: the MEAC-SWAC Challenge and Celebration Bowl. As with many other instances in today’s game, the fan experience perishes in the pursuit of television money.

These are all logical conclusions, but viewership and attendance data may show that the in-person sacrifice may be worth the viewership payoff the MEAC is receiving. However, the key word is viewership, with the discussion on financials coming later.

Last year, ESPN2 aired the showdown between North Carolina Central and South Carolina State at 5 PM ET on Friday, November 14th. The move was controversial, but the game delivered outstanding viewership relative to the rest of the MEAC’s games aired on linear (traditional television) platforms.

The table below with viewership data from Manny Soloway’s TV Media Substack shows that the ESPN2 bump made the North Carolina Central-South Carolina State game the MEAC’s most-watched linear TV game by nearly 300 percent. The ESPN2 bump is real and has boosted other FCS conferences given the network’s broader carriage than ESPNU. Additionally, the early spot is essentially a standalone spot compared to the rest of the MEAC’s weeknight games.

MEAC Linear TV Ratings (via Manny Soloway’s TV Media Blog)

Contrary to popular belief, the attendance did not suffer too much thanks to the earlier start. The South Carolina State game drew more fans than two North Carolina Central home games, including one featuring Michael Vick’s Norfolk State Spartans.

Furthermore, last year’s 5 PM Friday game only drew 598 fewer fans than the last North Carolina Central home game against South Carolina State in 2023. Additionally, the 2025 game actually drew 463 more fans than the two schools’ last Saturday home matchup at O’Kelly-Rodrick Stadium in 2021.

Despite the stigma, the effect of the early starts may be blown out of proportion for now. However, whether the MEAC is benefiting financially from ESPN’s unorthodox kickoff times remains to be seen. It seems unlikely, given attempts by FCS conferences to sacrifice fan experience for suboptimal television slots only create minor boosts to already low total conference payouts.

Perhaps the biggest loser in this may not even be the MEAC or the individual schools, but the local businesses. While fans may still show up for late-afternoon, weekday games, it likely comes at the expense of excursions to local businesses usually part of fans’ game-day routines. Although the effect is not drastic, it could take its toll if the MEAC continues to take these early-afternoon kickoffs.

As of now, moderation should to be the MEAC’s approach to these late-afternoon kickoffs. This is a key strategy to avoid completely sacrificing fan experience for television money. Once the MEAC makes this a frequent strategy, the novelty wears off.

The MAC provides a cautionary tale for the MEAC. While most fans across the country delight in November #MACtion, it has come at the cost of dwindling in-person fan bases, and even one school deciding that having more Saturday home games was worth the lengthy trips to San Jose and even Honolulu.

While the data seems to suggest that 5 PM Friday kickoffs are likely an exaggerated evil, the MEAC would be wise to use this scheduling approach sparingly. The fact the MEAC signed up for two 5 PM weekday kickoffs is especially startling. Nonetheless, while viewership is there, the money may hardly be worth the reputation of selling out fans for the sake of “exposure”.