NFL Network Hopes Starting Combine Coverage On Friday Draws More Viewers

NFL Network starts its coverage of the NFL Combine on Friday, marking the first time the net has begun covering the event on the final day of the work week. Its coverage will run through Monday. NFL Network has covered the event for 11 years; for the past eight years, the net ran its coverage from Saturday to Tuesday. “We are hoping that by being wrapped around the weekend and eliminating Tuesday, we are going to get more viewers,” said NFL Network Exec Producer Eric Weinberger. “Tuesday during the day is not very fan friendly. That’s a big adjustment for the viewer.” Weinberger also is excited that the schedule change will allow the net to cover Heisman Trophy-winning QBs Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota on Saturday, "where they are not now competing with the Daytona 500 or other Sunday sporting events.” Weinberger said that network execs take a unique pride in the event, which it started covering in '03. “It really is an event that nobody else is doing,” he said. “From a production standpoint and a marketing standpoint, it’s our time to own an exclusive event and show everyone what we can do. ... When we kick off the season, it’s five networks doing five pregame shows. Everyone does Super Bowl week. But this is the one that we exclusively own. I do get excited about it.” ESPN, NBCSN and FS1 have been reporting from the event, but NFL Network holds the exclusive rights to the actual event. “The NFL Draft season is such a big business for us,” Weinberger said. “This really kicks off the NFL Draft season."

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: NFL Network will use 17 cameras and 26 on-air analysts for its 45 hours of live coverage from the event. The most significant change viewers will notice this year will be through analytics. NFL Network will use technology that will compare players’ height, weight, hand size and time in the 40-yard dash with players that currently are in the NFL. “We’re not leaving it up to Mike Mayock, Charles Davis and Daniel Jeremiah to analyze who the quarterback reminds them of,” Weinberger said. “The next level for us is to apply data to it. Within seconds of running the 40, our algorithm will spit out the most comparable quarterbacks."