The NFL Draft will go on, though with a significant change due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The NFL Draft will take place as scheduled on April 23-25, but will not originate from Las Vegas as originally planned, the league announced Monday. The NFL says it is “exploring innovating options” for conducting the draft, which will remain televised.
The league was planning an ostentatious spectacle for this year’s draft, which was set to take place on the Las Vegas Strip.
While the draft will remain televised, the league did not specify which networks will air the event. While ESPN will surely be desperate for any live sports content by late April, ABC’s simulcast coverage last year was tailored to non-sports fans and opened with a guest appearance by Taylor Swift. If the NFL Draft is forced to take place virtually, it is hard to see where celebrity cameos and musical performances would fit.
ESPN is waiting to know more about the NFL’s plans for the draft and the extent of the pandemic before its coverage plans are set, a source told SMW.
The NFL Draft is just the latest sporting event to adjust due to the pandemic, though it is one of the few that will go on as scheduled. It may well be the only live sportscast in the entire month of April, assuming that conditions do not worsen and cause its postponement or cancellation.
[News from NFL Communications 3.16]
