It was a packed house at Chicago’s Roosevelt University yesterday for pro football’s big day of picks, but ESPN didn’t get anywhere near the numbers of last year. The 8–11:30 PM broadcast of the first day of the 2015 NFL Draft got a 5.1 in metered market ratings according to Nielsen. Jameis Winston, Heisman winner Marcus Mariota and Dante Fowler were the top three picks, but the cable sports giant took a hit of 25% down from what the 2014 NFL Draft Day 1 snagged.
Occurring in May for the first time and with its own extra drama of the fate of 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, the 2014 result was a record-breaker that scored better than any previous year since ESPN started telecasting the draft in 1980. Facing NHL and NBA playoffs like last night, last year’s ratings shattered the previous 2010 high of 5.4 in MM results.
When the final numbers came in last year, ESPN pulled in a record 9.943 million viewers and a 6.1 rating among Adults 18-49 for Day 1 of the 2014 NFL Draft. Day 1 of the 2013 NFL Draft got a 4.8 in MM NFL Draftratings, while 2012 garnered a 4.6 and 2011 received a 4.3 result.
Last night’s broadcast peaked at a 6.2 MM rating at around 8:45–9 PM as the N.Y. Jets picked USC’s Leonard Williams and the Chicago Bears chose West Virginia’s Kevin White. We’ll update with more numbers from the 2015 NFL Draft later but in the meantime, the Top 10 MM for last night’s picks were Cleveland (11.4), New Orleans (8.6), Philadelphia (8.0), Columbus, Ohio (7.4), Birmingham, Ala. (7.4), Tampa-St. Petersburg (6.8), Greensboro, N.C. (6.7), Norfolk, Va. (6.6), Charlotte (6.4) and Baltimore (6.4).
