The NFL Draft is a phenomenon that keeps growing to the point that it’s Godzilla stomping on Tokyo buildings and breathing fire on fully gassed-up cars for fun.
On Thursday, the first round of the NFL Draft on ESPN and NFL Network absolutely crushed the NBA Playoffs on ESPN2 and the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on NBCSN. John Ourand of Sports Business Journal has the overnight ratings.
Overnights: ESPN NFL Draft: 6.8 ESPN2 Blazers-Spurs 2.7 ESPN2 Heat-Nets: 2.6 NFL Net NFL Draft: 1.9 NBCSN Bos-Montreal 1.2 NBCSN Ana-LA: 0.7
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) May 9, 2014
On Friday, the NBA Playoffs did better, but again, Rounds 2 and 3 on the combined ESPN, ESPN2 and NFL Network did better than the NBA.
Overnights ESPN OKC-Clips: 3.9 ESPN Pacers-Wiz: 2.7 ESPN NFL Draft (7p-8p): 2.6 ESPN2 NFL Draft (8p-11:30p): 1.9 NFL Network NFL Draft: 0.9
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) May 10, 2014
This shows the power of the NFL. And moving the Draft this year to May also helped. You had better believe the NFL is looking at these ratings and thinking about a permanent move to May where advertising rates are higher.
The NFL states that at least 32 million people watched at least one minute of the Draft on Thursday.
2014 NFL DRAFT ROUND 1 MOST-WATCHED EVER
32.0 Million Fans View Round 1 of 2014 NFL Draft
NFL Network & NFL Digital Properties Set RecordsFirst-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 The Nielsen Company (*based on at least one minute of viewing). The 32.0 million viewers is up 28% over last year (25.0 million).
The combined ESPN/NFLN coverage also averaged a record 12.4 million viewers, ranking as the most-watched first round ever topping 2010 (8.3 million viewers). The NFL Draft was the most-watched program on cable and the second most-watched program on television Thursday night (The Big Bang Theory, CBS).
NFL Network’s first-round coverage drew a record average of 2.4 million viewers – a 60% increase over last year’s previous record (1.5 million viewers).
The NFL’s digital media platforms — including NFL.com and NFL Mobile from Verizon — set records with its first-round draft coverage of the 2014 NFL Draft. Highlights include:
- NFL digital media platforms had over 14 million visits, a 54 percent increase over 2013
- NFL Mobile had a year-over-year increase in visits of 168 percent
- NFL digital media properties had nine million visitors on Thursday, 44 percent higher than the 2013 NFL Draft
- NFL.com users averaged 29 minutes per visit on desktop, up 16 percent over 2013
In addition, more than 11 million people saw more than seven million total tweets about the Draft Thursday night, up 347% from 2013 (according to Nielsen Social Guide).
And NFL Network had its best viewership ever for the first round of the Draft.
NFL MEDIA POSTS RECORD NUMBERS FOR 2014 NFL DRAFT FIRST ROUND COVERAGE
NFL Network Averaged 1.46 US HH Rating & 2.4 Million Viewers – Up 54% & 60% From ’13 Respectively
With Growth Every Year, NFL Network’s US HH Rating Up 121% & Viewership Up 136% Since ‘10
NFL Digital Media Properties Received More Than 14 Million Visits – Up 54% from ‘13NFL Media – comprised of NFL Network, NFL.com and NFL Mobile – posted record numbers across all platforms for Thursday night’s coverage of the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
NFL Network’s coverage averaged a 1.46 US HH rating and 2.4 million viewers – both records for the network. Versus last year’s first round coverage, NFL Network experienced a 54 percent increase in average rating (0.95) and a 60 percent increase in average viewers (1.5 million).
In the 10th year of covering the NFL Draft, NFL Network has increased ratings and viewership each year, and is up 121 percent in ratings and up 136 percent in viewership since 2010.
In total, first-round coverage of the 2014 NFL Draft on NFL Network and ESPN drew a combined total viewership of 32.0 million viewers* making it the most-viewed Round 1 ever, according to The Nielsen Company (*based on at least one minute of viewing). The 32.0 million viewers tops the record set in 2010 (29.9 million viewers).
The NFL’s digital media platforms – including NFL.com and NFL Mobile – set records with its first round coverage of the NFL Draft with more than 14 million visits, a 54 percent increase over 2013. NFL Mobile had a year-over-year increase in visits of 168 percent.
Additionally, NFL digital media properties had nine million visits on Thursday, a 44 percent increase from 2013 and a 94 percent increase from 2012. NFL.com users averaged 29 minutes per visit on desktop, up 16 percent from 2013.
And how about ESPN? It only had 9.9 million people watch its coverage of the 1st Round and a 6.1 final rating. Those are the best numbers for the first night of coverage ever for ESPN and the NFL Draft. You did this, America. Only you.
ESPN’s Most-Watched NFL Draft First Round: 9.9 Million Viewers
ESPN’s live telecast of the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft on Thursday, May 8, averaged 9,943,000 viewers with a 6.1 US rating based on fast nationals, according to the Nielsen Company, making it the most-viewed NFL Draft telecast in ESPN’s 35 years of presenting the event.
The rating is up 49 percent (vs. 4.1) while viewership climbed an impressive 60 percent (vs. 6,199,000 viewers) compared to last year’s NFL Draft opening night. This year’s telecast ranks as the sixth highest-rated event of 2014 behind only the five Bowl Championship Series college football games on ESPN. The previous best opening-round telecast was 2010 (4.6 US rating and 7,290,000 viewers).
Thursday night’s ESPN telecast peaked at an 8.0 rating between 9:45-10 p.m. ET (when the Dallas Cowboys picked at No. 16). The top 10 metered markets included Cleveland (13.0), Houston (11.6), Austin, TX (11.3), Greenville, SC (10.8), New Orleans (10.8), Buffalo (10.6), San Antonio (10.2), Columbus, OH (8.9), Greensboro, NC (8.8) and Philadelphia (8.7).
ESPN Digital Platforms Log Average Minute Audience of 233,000
NFL Draft content across ESPN digital platforms – including WatchESPN, ESPN.com, mobile Web and apps – logged an average minute audience of 233,000 on Thursday, up 27 percent over the previous year. At its peak (9-10 p.m.), ESPN’s NFL Draft-related digital content logged an average minute audience of 1.1 million people. Also, WatchESPN logged 457,000 unique viewers and 27 million total minutes, up 122 percent and 153 percent, respectively, compared to Round 1 of the 2013 NFL Draft.
On mobile platforms, the ESPN mobile Web NFL section generated 3.3 million unique visitors (up 49 percent) and an average minute audience of 32,000 (up 68 percent). On Twitter, 1.6 million people tweeted a total of 7.2 million tweets during the NFL Draft telecast window, more than double (160 percent) and more than quadruple (352 percent) the amount compared to last year, respectively. In total, near 80 percent of all TV tweets on Thursday were about the NFL Draft.
ESPN NFL Draft Telecast Ratings – Round 1 (2010-14):
Year US Rating Viewers 2014 6.1 9,943,000 2013 4.1 6,199,000 2012 4.4 6,661,000 2011 3.8 6,003,000 2010 4.6 7,290,000
There you have it.
