NHL Draft Viewership Drops, But 3rd-Best This Decade

The NHL Draft could not match last year’s record performance.

First round coverage of the NHL Draft earned 323,000 viewers on NBCSN Friday night, down 14% from last year (374K) but up 28% from 2015 (252K). It was the third-largest draft audience on NBCSN since at least 2009, behind last year and 2014 (337K).

Rounds 2-7 of the draft aired on NHL Network, which is not Nielsen-rated.

Of the five pro sports drafts that are televised annually, the NHL edition ranks right in the middle of the pack — well behind the NFL and NBA, but ahead of Major League Baseball and WNBA.

Notably, viewership for the draft was nearly 50% lower than for the NHL Awards two nights earlier. That event, which featured the expansion draft for the [Las] Vegas Golden Knights, pulled 595,000.