First round of NFL Draft earns record-setting viewership
In Boston, the draft across all three networks drew a 10.2 rating, which ranked 18th.
is always a major event on the sports calendar. But it has never been anticipated more than this year, with the COVID-19 pandemic halting live sports and fans practicing social distancing.
Confirmation of that anticipation came with Friday afternoon’s announcement of record-setting television ratings for Thursday’s broadcasts of the first round.
An average audience of over 15.6 million viewers watched the first night of the 2020 NFL Draft across ABC, ESPN, NFL Network, ESPN Deportes, and digital channels easily breaking the previous high of 12.4 million viewers in 2014.
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The top three markets were all in Ohio, not surprising since the Bengals had the No. 1 overall pick, selecting Louisiana State quarterback Joe Burrow. Columbus, Ohio (16.7 rating), Cleveland (15.9), and Cincinnati (15.6) were the top three, followed by Philadelphia (15.1), Kansas City (14.3), Jacksonville (14.1), Atlanta (14.0), Charlotte (13.1), Denver (12.8) and (tied) Nashville and Milwaukee (12.7).
In Boston, the draft across all three networks drew a 10.2 rating, which ranked 18th. But that was a 52-percent gain over last year’s Round 1 rating in Boston, and it was the second-best year-to-year gain in 2020, behind only Atlanta (59 percent gain). The Patriots went into the draft with the No. 23 pick but traded out of the first round.
Overall coverage peaked from 8:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. with 19.6 million viewers.
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