2020 NFL Draft Breaks Viewership Records Across the Board
Draft notches average audience of 8.4M viewers overall, 15.6M viewers for Round 1
Story Highlights
The 2020 NFL Draft established new all-time highs for media consumption in every category. An average audience of over 8.4 million viewers watched all three days of the 2020 NFL Draft across ABC, ESPN, NFL Network, ESPN Deportes, and digital channels easily breaking the previous high of 6.2 million viewers in 2019 (+35%).
Each day of the 2020 NFL Draft established new highs as an average audience of over 15.6 million viewers watched Round 1 on Thursday (+37% vs. 2019), over 8.2 million viewers watched Rounds 2 and 3 on Friday (+40% vs. 2019), and over 4.2 million viewers watched Rounds 4-7 on Saturday (+32% vs. 2019).
In all, the 2020 NFL Draft telecasts across ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network reached more than 55 million total viewers across Nielsen-measured channels over the three-day event, up +16% vs. 2019.
Check out more of SVG’s coverage of the 2020 NFL Draft:
- ESPN Production, Disney DTCI Technology Teams Tackle Most Unique Draft Production Ever
- NFL Media Deploys iPhone Production Kits, Coordinates 600+ Live Feeds to Bring Virtual Draft to Fans
- NFL Franchises Connect With Fans Through Live Streams, Interactive Posts on Social Media
- Bleacher Report Builds Remote, Distributed Control-Room Infrastructure To Deliver Live Coverage
“I couldn’t be more proud of the efforts and collaboration of our clubs, league personnel, and our partners to conduct an efficient Draft and share an unforgettable experience with millions of fans during these uncertain times,” says NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “This Draft is the latest chapter in the NFL’s storied history of lifting the spirit of America and unifying people. In addition to celebrating the accomplishments of so many talented young men, we were pleased that this unique Draft helped shine a light on today’s true heroes – the healthcare workers, first responders, and countless others on the front lines in the battle against COVID-19. We are also grateful to all those who contributed to the NFL family’s fundraising efforts.”
“This year’s NFL Draft clearly took on a much greater meaning and it’s especially gratifying for ESPN to have played a role in presenting this unique event to a record number of NFL fans while supporting the league’s efforts to give back,” says ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro. “The success of this year’s Draft is a testament to the unprecedented collaboration across the NFL, ESPN, and The Walt Disney Co. in the midst of such a challenging time.”
Top-10 metered markets across all networks included (rating in parenthesis): Columbus, Ohio (8.8), Cleveland (8.7), Philadelphia (8.6), Kansas City (8.5), Cincinnati (8.5), Atlanta (8.2), Jacksonville (8.1), Nashville (8.0), Milwaukee (7.8), and Denver/Baltimore (7.0).
In addition to the telecast of the 2020 NFL Draft, an average of over 5.4 million daily viewers watched in excess of 46.7 million total minutes of “Draft-A-Thon LIVE,” a massive fundraising campaign aimed at raising much-needed funds for COVID-19 relief efforts. Draft-A-Thon LIVE was presented all three days of the 2020 NFL Draft and available through NFL digital properties across devices (phone, PC, tablet and connected TVs) as well as a number of digital platforms including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, Reddit, TuneIn, Yahoo! Sports and more than 100 news websites via SendtoNews.
In addition to raising funds, Draft-A-Thon LIVE paid tribute to healthcare workers, first responders, and others on the front lines of the battle with COVID-19. To date, the NFL family has raised more than $100 million in COVID-19 relief. Funds raised during Draft-A-Thon will help support six national nonprofit organizations and their respective COVID-19 relief efforts.
Fans can continue to donate at NFL.com/Relief. At NFL.com/auction fans can bid on autographed NFL items and exclusive packages to support COVID-19 relief as well. The NFL does not retain any profits from the sale of these items or experiences. Charitable contributions are donated to the NFL’s nonprofit partners.
