While ESPN dominated ratings wars on Thursday night with their coverage of the first round of the NFL Draft, the cable saw their ratings for the star-studded event fall for the second straight year.
With few household names entered in the annual collegiate Draft, ESPN drew 6.289 million viewers for Thursday's telecast, sharply below last year's total of 7.026 million. The NFL Network, ESPN's chief rival for Draft Day coverage, drew 2.039 million, up slightly from 2015's total of 1.8 million on the opening night of the event from Chicago. By comparison, viewership for a pair of NBA and NHL playoff games, Game 6 of the Hawks-Celtics Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and Game 1 of the Capitals-Penguins Eastern Conference Semifinals failed to attract three million viewers combined.
Two years ago, ESPN drew an audience of 9.9 million for the same time slot during the 2014 NFL Draft, as viewers remained glued to their sets while Johnny Manziel fell out of the top 20 in the opening round. It represented the highest ratings for the network's opening day coverage of the program in 35 years.
With few household names entered in the annual collegiate Draft, ESPN drew 6.289 million viewers for Thursday's telecast, sharply below last year's total of 7.026 million. The NFL Network, ESPN's chief rival for Draft Day coverage, drew 2.039 million, up slightly from 2015's total of 1.8 million on the opening night of the event from Chicago. By comparison, viewership for a pair of NBA and NHL playoff games, Game 6 of the Hawks-Celtics Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and Game 1 of the Capitals-Penguins Eastern Conference Semifinals failed to attract three million viewers combined.
Two years ago, ESPN drew an audience of 9.9 million for the same time slot during the 2014 NFL Draft, as viewers remained glued to their sets while Johnny Manziel fell out of the top 20 in the opening round. It represented the highest ratings for the network's opening day coverage of the program in 35 years.
