As 32 NFL franchises prepare to make a first round selection in Green Bay on Thursday night, the league continues to shop NFL Draft media rights for next year and beyond.
Recent reporting has indicated that ESPN is highly likely to retain broadcast rights for the draft. This week will mark the 46th consecutive year that the Worldwide Leader will air NFL Draft coverage. But now, other parts of the media rights picture are coming into focus.
According to a report by David Rumsey and Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports on Wednesday, the NFL Network is expected to retain NFL Draft rights beyond this year. The league-owned network has produced a separate NFL Draft broadcast from ESPN for nearly two decades. Of course, there are also ongoing talks between ESPN and NFL Media about an equity deal that could see the league’s media assets bought by the Disney-owned network, which muddies the situation.
The league is also looking towards a streamer to purchase international distribution rights for the NFL Draft. And per Front Office Sports, YouTube is in “pole position” to land these rights. It’s unclear whether a streaming service would be permitted to also offer its broadcast in the United States, as the concept of “exclusivity” is a bit nebulous regarding the NFL Draft.
The NFL has been consistent on its draft strategy for years, allowing several different networks to all produce different broadcasts. Last year, for instance, ESPN produced its standard broadcast, ABC produced a more human-interest focused broadcast, NFL Network continued its traditional coverage, Pat McAfee produced his Draft Spectacular for ESPN’s digital platforms, and ESPN Deportes aired Spanish-language coverage.
While, yes, those telecasts all appeared on Disney or NFL-owned platforms, the league is clearly open to expanding elsewhere.
Suffice it to say, it seems like fans will have more options, not fewer, when it comes to where they can watch the NFL Draft next year.
