Coming off of a season of lower ratings, the NFL’s premier offseason event delivered a multi-year high.
Thursday’s opening round of the NFL Draft earned a combined 5.5 rating and 9.2 million viewers across ESPN and NFL Network, up 6% in ratings and 11% in viewership from last year (5.2, 8.3M) and the most-watched first round of the event since 2014 (7.6, 12.4M).
Overall, it was the second-largest audience ever for the first day of the draft, with the caveat that prior to 2010, the first day used to include the second and third rounds.
Figures do not include streaming coverage on WatchESPN (243K) or the NFL’s digital platforms (38K).
On ESPN, first round coverage delivered a 4.0 rating and 6.7 million viewers — up a tick in ratings and 6% in viewership from last year (4.0, 6.3M) but down 11% and 5% respectively from 2015 (4.5, 7.0M).
NFL Network scored a 1.5 and 2.5 million, up 23% in ratings and 24% in viewership from last year (1.2, 2.0M) and the network’s largest audience ever for draft coverage. The previous high was 2.4 million in 2014. NFL Network accounted for 27% of Thursday’s audience, up from 24% last year and its highest percentage yet.
In adults 18-49, ESPN (2.8) and NFL Network (1.0) combined for a 3.8 rating (+6%). The networks combined for a 3.4 in adults 18-34 (+1%). In both demos, the NFL Draft was easily the top program of the night on television — crushing second-place finisher The Big Bang Theory in both measures (2.6 in A18-49, 1.3 in A18-34).
Locally, Thursday’s coverage combined for a 13.3 rating in host-market Philadelphia, its top draft rating on record. On ESPN alone, Cleveland was the top market with a 12.6 rating, followed by Philadelphia (9.1), Columbus, Oh., (9.0), Greenville, S.C. (8.7), and Birmingham, Ala. (7.6).
(Thu. numbers from NFL, ESPN Media Zone 4.28)
