The NFL Draft was indeed ready for primetime.
ESPN drew a 5.4 overnight rating for coverage of the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, up 26% from a 4.3 for last year’s first round, which took place on a Saturday afternoon.
As in years past, the NFL Draft topped its NBA Playoff competition head-to-head. Cavaliers/Bulls Game 3 drew a 2.1 overnight on TNT, while Lakers/Thunder drew a 3.0. Overnights for the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Versus were not available.
To put the 5.4 overnight in perspective, ESPN drew a 3.6 for first round coverage of The Masters, which featured Tiger Woods‘ return to professional golf.
On NFL Network, coverage of the draft drew a 0.95 overnight, up 44% from last year’s 0.66.
