Although ratings for the 2024 NFL Draft were down 3% from last year’s event, the metrics still surpassed several other sports league counterparts airing programming within the time slot. The draft averaged 5.74 million viewers across its three days on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and NFL Network, according to the NFL and Nielsen Media Research.
Within those ratings, however, was a strong Day 1 performance that accumulated an average of 12.1 million viewers, which is up 6% year-over-year. Moreover, its total unduplicated audience equated to 34.3 million viewers, the highest mark since 2021. The stellar ratings were a point of discussion on the In The Loop midday program on SportsRadio 610 in Houston.
The program had a discussion on Monday pertaining to whether or not the NFL Draft should be extended to a week-long event. In 2010, the NFL expanded the draft to a three-day format and has been holding the event around the country for nearly a decade. Next year’s draft will be held at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisc., the historic home of the Green Bay Packers.
“While I wouldn’t go that far, there’s a case to be made for maybe four – maybe four days of it,” co-host John Lopez said on Tuesday. “NFL Draft ratings came out for Thursday and Friday – Saturday, I believe, I haven’t seen those yet – and it was beyond embarrassing for every other sport, especially the NBA.”
While the NFL Draft averaged 12.1 million viewers on Thursday, the next best performance was an average of 3.34 million viewers for the NBA Playoffs Western Conference battle between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers on TNT. In the earlier time slot as part of a doubleheader of games presented on TNT, the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers game averaged 2.57 million viewers. NBA TV aired the Cleveland Cavaliers’ matchup against the Orlando Magic and averaged 2.52 million viewers across the game. Viewership data for these matchups is courtesy of Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch.
“The NBA tried to counter it with three standalone games on different networks,” Lopez added. “Didn’t matter – more than 2 million [additional] fans were watching the second and third rounds of the draft than the NBA Playoffs.”
TBS presented an NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs quarterfinal matchup between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning that averaged 569,000 viewers. ESPN2 also aired the Carolina Hurricanes’ Eastern Conference matchup against the New York Islanders and drew an average of 435,000 on the night. The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has averaged 800,000 viewers through Sunday on ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS and truTV, which is up 3% year-over-year.
