TV ratings for the draft coverage…
When analyzing from a television perspective, it was an opening round that hardcore NFL fans should have loved. Casual fans? A much tougher sell. That showed in the viewership numbers for the first round. Here’s a chart showing you the three-year viewership figures for the opening night of the Draft.
2022: 10.03 million viewers. (The breakdown was ESPN with 4.446 million; ABC with 3.803 million; and NFLN with 1.782 million.)
2021: 12.5 million viewers.
2020: 15.3 million viewers.
When I talked to Markman and Yook last week, they both suggested the NFL Draft might have become viewership-decline-proof, even with the absence of quarterbacks, but I think this year’s first-round numbers confirmed that’s not the case. The bigger issue might have been all the teams that did not make a first-round pick on Thursday. That likely depressed viewership in some cities.
If you have the Athletic, here is the article that the above excerpt is from…
https://theathletic.com/3279096/2022/05/02/2022-nfl-draft-broadcasts/?source=user_shared_article