Despite plenty of drama over Laremy Tunsil’s gas mask video, the overnight ratings for this year’s NFL Draft were down from the year before. John Ourand of Sports Business Journal/Sports Business Daily has the numbers:
ESPN's coverage of the NFL Draft drew a 4.7 overnight, down from last year's 5.1. NFL Network was at a 1.6, up from last year's 1.4.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) April 29, 2016
Despite being lower than last year, Ourand noted the NFL Draft still outpaced the Atalents-Boston NBA Playoff game on TNT and the Philadelphia-Washington NHL Playoff contest on NBCSN.
SI’s Richard Deitsch lists the top ten cities which tuned into the Draft:
Top-rated cities for ESPN's R1 Draft coverage:
1.Cle; 2 Columbus; 3. NOLA; 4. Dayton; 5. Birm; 6. Jax; 7. Philly; 8. Minn; 9. Buf; 10. Nash— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) April 29, 2016
But in Boston where there was talk of boycotting the Draft over the upholding of Tom Brady’s suspension and the lack of a draft pick in the first round, ratings there were the lowest among the 56 metered markets according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss:
For ESPN's coverage of Day 1 of the NFL draft, the Boston market did a 1.5 rating, last among 56 metered markets.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) April 29, 2016
In addition, other New England cities saw lower ratings than last year:
Additional ratings info from ESPN's coverage of Day 1 of NFL Draft: Providence (3.4) and Hartford (4.5) fell below 4.7 national average.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) April 29, 2016
But ESPN’s PR maven Bill Hofheimer did spin the numbers in the Worldwide Leader’s favor:
ESPN's Rd 1 #NFLDraft telecast delivered 4.7 overnight rating. Peaked from 915-930 pm ET w/ a 5.6 rating.
— bill hofheimer (@bhofheimer_espn) April 29, 2016
4.7 overnight rating for #NFLDraft's Rd 1 is ESPN’s best overnight since Pro Bowl (Jan 31), which averaged 5.0 rating.
— bill hofheimer (@bhofheimer_espn) April 29, 2016
Even with the lower numbers, the NFL Draft did dominate sports viewing on Thursday night. Viewership for the other rounds will be lower and may even get beat by the NBA Playoffs, but the NFL has spoken and spoken loudly especially for the first round.
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About Ken Fang
Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.
He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.
Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.