ESPN, NFL Network Saturday Draft Coverage Ratings Up From '08

ESPN's coverage of the NFL Draft on Saturday was up slightly from '08, as the net earned a 4.0 cable rating from 4:00-9:00pm ET, up 2.6% from a 3.9 rating last year when coverage aired from 3:00-8:00pm. The net, however, earned a 1.6 cable rating for Sunday's Draft telecast, off 11.1% from a 1.8 last year. NFL Network saw gains for both telecasts, as Saturday's coverage earned a 1.3 cable rating (+44.4%) and Sunday earned a 0.6 rating (+20%). The chart below lists a three-year viewership trend for the NFL Draft on ESPN and NFL Network for Saturday and Sunday telecasts (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).

CHANGE IS A COMIN': In Dallas, Rick Gosselin reports the NFL is "considering giving the first round its own day -- and a prime-time television slot" next year. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday said that the league is "discussing the possibility of staging the first round of the 2010 draft on a Thursday evening, the second and third rounds Friday evening and the final four rounds Saturday." The event "would remain the cable television domain of ESPN and the NFL Network." Goodell: "We're more confident now, with the timing of the first round, that it can fit a 3 1/2-hour window. ... We'll talk to our teams about it. We have to see what impact this would have on them. But I think it has potential." Gosselin writes the NFL is "ratings gold for television networks, so prime-time has been beckoning the draft all along" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 4/28).

HOSTS WITH THE MOST: SI.com's Bill Griffith compared the ESPN and NFL Network Draft coverage, and wrote ESPN "gets the edge." ESPN's corporate culture "features improved news reporting, lots of analysis, great graphics and a deep stable of talent." NFL Network's presentation was "hardly second-rate," as the network is "availing itself of many eager and capable on-air personalities." Griffith awarded ESPN host Chris Berman an "A" for his work during the Draft, and he gave NFL Net host Rich Eisen an "A+" for his hosting. ESPN analyst Herm Edwards "always has something trenchant to say," and while "overexposed this time of year ... it's impossible to imagine the draft without" ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. Meanwhile, NFL Net analyst Mike Mayock was "well-prepared and well-spoken with generally succinct insights," and he "wore well over the almost 16 hours." NFL Net analyst Marshall Faulk was a "bit reserved but spoke well and with insight," and he "looks like a keeper" (SI.com, 4/27). In Philadelphia, John Gonzalez adds NFL Net analyst Jon Gruden "wasn't half bad" during the Draft (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 4/28).

Writer Criticizes Berman's Interview With Goodell

FULL STEAM AHEAD: In DC, John Feinstein wrote, "Here's what we really learn on draft weekend: No one in the history of sports has ever marketed itself as well as the NFL. It has been 30 years since the NFL and ESPN decided to make the draft into a TV show, and what is most remarkable about it is that as god-awful as that show is, millions sit transfixed by it for most of two days." ESPN deserves a "good deal of credit -- or is it blame? -- for all this," as the net "endlessly hypes the draft for weeks and weeks before it happens" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 4/27).

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