We relayed on Monday that ESPN’s live coverage of the 2014 NFL Draft drew some monster ratings. Now, we have the full numbers from the three-day event courtesy of the NFL’s PR department, and it’s safe to conclude that this draft was the biggest non-game-related television hit in league history.
Coverage of the 2014 NFL Draft on NFL Network, ESPN & ESPN2 reached 45.7 million people across the three days, topping the previous record set in 2010, according to The Nielsen Company. The number of viewers that watched some part of the draft over the combined three days topped the previous record of 45.4 million set in 2010.
First-round coverage of the 2014 NFL Draft on ESPN and NFL Network drew a combined total viewership of 32.0 million viewers, making it the most-viewed Round 1 ever, according to Nielsen. The 32.0 million viewers was up 28 percent over last year (25.0 million).
Viewership for the combined NFLN/ESPN/ESPN2 coverage of Rounds 2 and 3 on Friday night was up eight percent over last year. Day 3 viewership across the combined NFLN/ESPN coverage was up 17 percent.
In addition, the 2014 NFL Draft was the biggest NFL Draft ever on Twitter. In total, more than 9.6 million tweets were sent about the 2014 NFL Draft, up 211 percent from 2013.
You’ll recall that 2010 marked the first time the draft was spread over three days, with the first round in prime time on Thursday night. The 2011 draft was probably soured by the lockout, but the fact that this year’s draft performed significantly better than 2012 and 2013 will likely cause the NFL to conclude that the two-week delay paid off.
We have to keep in mind, though, that correlation does not necessarily imply causation. This year’s draft might have done just as well in its usual late-April timeslot. The difference might have been Johnny Manziel early and Michael Sam late.
Everyone in the industry, and most fans, seem to hate the move into May. “I haven’t met anyone in the league who likes it. Not coaches, not scouts, not GMs,” said Mike Mayock on NFL Network Saturday evening. But unfortunately, the league realized this week that people will tune in regardless of the delay. And if it means people are talking about you for an extra two weeks each spring, it’s actually good business to go that route.
In fact, expect the NFL to add that fourth day while they’re at it.
“I hate to break it to you,” wrote ESPN’s Kevin Seifert Monday, “but if anything, record-setting television ratings might justify not only a permanent May date but also a rumored expansion into a traveling four-day event as part of a larger offseason reorganization.”
It’s hard to comprehend this, but it’s possible the league would benefit from something that actually pisses off the majority of its customers. A Pro Football Talk poll of more than 16,000 fans found than more than 96 percent preferred the draft in April.
Nothing is set in stone yet for next year, and in a story for Bleacher Report last week representatives from the NFL and NFLPA told me that time and research would be required before any major decisions were made. But by all indications, this was a trial run. And the sheer numbers likely mean we should get used to a May draft.
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