A couple of press releases pertaining to the NFL Draft. The First Round of the Draft scored very well on ESPN and NFL Network getting a combined 5.28 rating which the National Football League says is the highest ever for the event. The average was 8.1 million, 6.67 for ESPN. And the NFL says the total viewership overall was 25.3 million people which is quite impressive.
First, a press release from the NFL.
2012 NFL DRAFT ROUND 1 HIGHEST-RATED EVER; MORE THAN 25 MILLION WATCH FIRST ROUND
NFL Network & NFL Digital Properties Set Records
First-round coverage of the 2012 NFL Draft drew a combined total viewership of 25.3 million viewers on ESPN and NFL Network, according to The Nielsen Company.
The networks posted a record combined average rating of 5.28 – an 18 percent increase over last year’s first round (4.46 average rating).
The combined two-network average of 8.1 million viewers is up 16 percent from last year (7.0 million) and ranks as the second-most-watched first round ever (8.3 million in 2010).
NFL Network’s first-round coverage drew a record average of 1.4 million viewers – a 40 percent jump over last year’s previous record (1.0 million viewers).
The NFL’s digital media platforms — including NFL.com, NFL Mobile and other NFL mobile products — set a record with its first-round draft coverage as unique visitors jumped 53 percent compared to last year (and 41 percent increase over 2010).
And here’s ESPN’s press release for good measure.
ESPN’s Second Highest-Rated and Second Most-Viewed NFL Draft
Rating Up 16 Percent vs. 2011ESPN’s live telecast of the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft on Thursday, April 26, averaged 6,661,000 viewers with a 5.1 household coverage rating based on fast nationals, according to the Nielsen Company.
The rating was an increase of 16 percent from last year’s first round, which earned a 3.8 rating. Viewership was up 11 percent over last year’s 6,003,000 average. In addition, last night’s opening round ranks as the second highest-rated and second most-viewed NFL Draft telecast on record, behind only the 2010 first round (5.3 rating and 7,290,000 viewers). ESPN has televised the NFL Draft annually since 1980 and the event has received ratings since 1983.
Thursday night’s ESPN telecast peaked at a 5.8 rating between 8:30 and 9 p.m. ET. The top five metered markets included: Cleveland (10.7 rating), Birmingham, Ala., (10.5), Dayton, Ohio (8.3), Columbus, Ohio (7.3) and Buffalo, N.Y. (7.3).
NFL content across ESPN digital platforms generated an average minute audience of 84,000 Thursday, up 11 percent compared to the same day last year. The NFL section on ESPN.com specifically had an average minute audience of 24,000, up nine percent. Meanwhile, the NFL section on the mobile Web had an average minute audience of 21,000, up 50 percent.
There you have it.
