Last Thursday, many viewers watched the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but television ratings fell in the following two days.
According to Sports Business Journal, the first round averaged 5.7 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and NFL Network, the best number since 2021. That's down from 3% in 2023 (5.9 million), but an increase compared to 2022 (5.2 million).
The last six laps were a different story.
On Friday, the second and third rounds saw an 8% decline (5.1 million), making them the least-watched rounds 2-3 since 2012. After six quarterbacks were drafted in the first 12 selections, a lack of significant storylines attracted viewers. After Bo Nix went to the Denver Broncos at No. 12, a signal caller didn't come off the field until the New Orleans Saints selected Spencer Rattler in the fifth round at No. 150 overall.
The final four rounds on Saturday attracted a total of almost 3 million viewers (down 3% from 3.1 million last year). In individual cases, ABC (1.4 million) performed better in rounds 4 to 7 than in the previous year (1.3 million). ESPN fell from 1.2 million to 1.1 million; as did NFL Network (498,000 out of 583,000).
Average NFL Draft Viewers (000)
2024: 5,744
2023: 5,927
2022: 5,198
2021: 6,085
2020: 8,227
2019: 6,090
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