The overnight ratings for the NFL Draft resemble the exit polls for the 2004 Presidential Election.
While the overnight rating for the Draft fell 15% from last year, indicating a sharp and surprising downturn in viewership, the final rating for the event was down only 3%. ESPN drew a 3.4 national rating with 5 million viewers for its coverage of the 2008 NFL Draft, down slightly from a 3.5 and 5.1 million in ’07.
Ratings for the Draft remain the lowest in five years; the 3.4 rating is the lowest since the 2004 Draft drew a 3.1. That being said, a 3% drop is far more acceptable than a 15% drop.
For the second straight year, one of USA Network’s WWE Raw telecasts finished with more viewers — though losing to WWE Raw, which is often the most watched cable program of the week, is not as embarrassing as it sounds.
