NFL Draft ratings dip after strong first round

Field Level Media|published: Mon 29th April, 21:40 2024

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addresses the crowd with Eminem and the Detroit Lions' Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Aidan Hutchinson and Hall of Famers Calvin Johnson and Barry Sanders on the stage before Round 1 of the NFL draft on April 25, 2024 in Detroit. credits: Eric Seals / USA TODAY NETWORK

After drawing around 12 million viewers on ESPN, ABC and NFL Network for the first round on Thursday, the NFL draft saw its worst ratings for the second and third round on Friday since 2012.

Thursday's viewership was up 6 percent from last year and was the highest it's been since 12.5 million watched in 2021. ESPN led the way this year with 5.6 million, followed by ABC (4.5 million) and NFL Network (1.6 million).

When the 2020 draft was remote during the pandemic, a record 15.3 million viewers tuned in for the first round.

Only 5.1 million tuned in on Friday, down 8 percent from last year's 5.5 million viewers.

Unlike NFL Network and ABC, which carried Day 2 of the draft in full, ESPN opted to carry Game 3 of the Milwaukee Bucks-Indiana Pacers first-round series on Friday, with ESPN2 broadcasting the draft.

—Field Level Media

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