Viewers turned out for the top of a stacked NBA Draft class, but did not stick around for the full three-hour show.
Wednesday’s opening round of the NBA Draft, in which Cooper Flagg was selected first overall by the Dallas Mavericks, averaged 3.77 million viewers across ABC and ESPN — down 14% from last year, when the draft class was considered particularly low-profile (4.41M).
Viewership also declined 24% from the first round of the 2023 draft, in which Victor Wembanyama was picked first overall. (Officially, the 2023 draft averaged 3.74 million, but that is because both rounds took place on the same night.)
Though down overall, the first half-hour of the draft actually increased four percent over last year (from 4.87 to 5.05 million) — an indication that viewers did turn out for the top picks. It is also likely that last year’s draft held up better than most beyond the top picks, as arguably the highest profile draftee (Bronny James) did not get selected until the second round.
Viewership peaked at 5.16 million in the 8:15 PM ET quarter-hour.
Broken out by network, the main ESPN telecast averaged a 1.0 (-15%) and 2.0 million (-10%). The ABC alternate presentation suffered steeper declines with a 1.1 (-19%) and 1.78 million (-19%).
The NBA Draft continues to rank as the second-most watched in sports behind its NFL counterpart, which averaged its second-largest audience on record with an opening night average of 13.6 million (including streaming). Of the other draft telecasts, only the WNBA had a seven-figure audience (1.25M), with last year’s MLB Draft at 863,000 and NHL Draft at 502,000.
As might go without saying on a summer night in 2025, the NBA Draft was the night’s most-watched television program.
