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Tonight is the night that NFL fans the world over treat as Christmas: the NFL Draft. Year after year, hopeful NFL fans tune in to the draft to see which player their chosen team will draft. When the pick is made, network talking heads, sports radio hosts, bloggers, and casual sports fans will issue their opinions on the team's new pick, with some teams declared winners and some declared losers. One thing is certain: the two big winners will be the NFL Network and ESPN. These two networks are the sole television broadcast outlets for the Draft (aside from NFL.com, where you will be able to watch the NFL Network's coverage), and there are some major changes to the broadcast this year.
In the past, this gala took place over two days, a Saturday and a Sunday -- resulting in marathon television-watching sessions from NFL fans spanning the globe. This year, we will be treated to the first round on its own tonight. The next two rounds will be on Friday night, then the draft wil conclude on Saturday. In my opinion, this schedule is a great move -- as it will give the networks several opportunities to sell ads, perhaps pro-rating these ads based on what portion of the draft the commercial will air. Remember, the NFL Draft will only air on two stations, ESPN and the NFL Network. These two will receive quite a bit of money from advertisers who are vying for the valuable eyes of the networks' viewers. Last year, ESPN logged a record total audience of 36.7 million viewers. We all know that this number was not lost on advertisers.
Last year, there were 15.5 hours of draft coverage. Doesn't that mean that the likes of the Bengals (21st pick), Ravens (25th pick), Jets (29th pick), and the Colts (31st pick) will be up until well past midnight? Not necessarily. In fact, the NFL expects the first round to end around 11 PM EST -- assuming that teams take the full 10 minutes to make a draft pick. This time frame could extend given trades, but don't underestimate the rabid fans who will stay up as long as necessary to see their team's pick.
Another problem some see is that their local provider does not carry the NFL Network. How can the channel be one of the big winners if a portion of the viewers are blocked? According to a tweet from Rich Eisen, the draft coverage will be free on NFL.com. I know when my Bengals pick, I will be tuned in to both NFL.com and ESPN (we don't have the NFL Network thanks to Time Warner Cable).
These outlets are going to garner quite a bit of attention tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday. Expect that attention to continue as the drafts are graded and the picks are questioned. This truly is the most wonderful time of the year for NFL fans -- and it should be for ESPN and the NFL Network.
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