04/30/2021
Thursday’s coverage of the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft drew solid numbers across ESPN/ABC/NFL Network. It dropped off from last year’s record of 15.26 million average English-language viewers, but as per Paulsen at Sports Media Watch, the draft drew its second-highest viewership numbers ever across networks this year:
The opening round of the NFL Draft averaged 12.52 million viewers across ESPN, ABC and NFL Network Thursday night, the second-largest audience in the history of the event. Viewership declined 18% from last year’s all-time record of 15.26 million, set during a period in which all other competing sporting events were on hiatus.