The NFL Draft is heading to broadcast television.
Fox Sports will co-produce NFL Network’s NFL Draft coverage this season, with the FOX broadcast network simulcasting at least the first two rounds, The New York Times reported Wednesday. NBC Sports first reported the news.
The move is part of Fox Sports’ Thursday Night Football deal. According to Sports Business Daily, FOX will carry the draft for the full length of the TNF deal (five years), with the rights fee included in the $550 million/year price tag.
The move does not affect ESPN’s NFL Draft production, which will continue.
FOX will become the first over-the-air network to televise the Draft, which typically beats all primetime competition in the advertiser-friendly demos of adults 18-34 and adults 18-49. Last year, ESPN and NFL Network combined for a 3.8 rating in 18-49, which exceeds every non-sports Fox program since “24: Legacy” after Super Bowl 51 (6.1).
NFL Network’s draft audience was already gaining on that of ESPN. Last year, the network averaged 1.5 million viewers for its three days of coverage, up 18% from the previous year and an all-time record. ESPN’s audience was more-than-twice as high (3.1M), but up only 1%.
NFL Network’s share of the draft audience has grown in three straight years, rising from less than a quarter in 2014 to a full third last year.
[Wed. news from NYT 2.14, Sports Business Daily 2.14, NBC Sports 2.14]
