ESPN and NFL Network both saw overnight ratings decline for the NFL Draft last night, as this year's first round lacked the drama surrounding QB Johnny Manziel seen last year. ESPN drew a 5.1 overnight for the first round from 8:00-11:30pm ET, down 25% from a record-setting 6.8 overnight last year. However, the 5.1 remains above figures from '13 (4.6 overnight) and '12 (4.8 overnight). ESPN's telecast last night peaked at a 6.2 rating from 8:45-9:00pm between the sixth and eighth picks. Cleveland-Akron led all markets with an 11.4 local rating for ESPN's telecast, followed by New Orleans (8.6) and Philadelphia (8.0). Meanwhile, NFL Net drew a 1.4 overnight for its first-round coverage, down 26% from a record 1.9 overnight last year, but still up from a 1.2 in '13 (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT: In DC, Cindy Boren wrote ESPN's Shelley Smith is the "best story" of the Draft. Smith this week returned to work following seven months off while she "underwent treatment for breast cancer and has been front and center" covering Mariota (WASHINGTONPOST.com). MLB Network's Sam Ryan tweeted, "Welcome back @ShelleyESPN. An amazing and courageous journalist, woman and mom. #ShelleyStrong." Pac-12 Networks' Cindy Brunson: "My favorite part of the @NFL draft so far....easy. Seeing @ShelleyESPN back on the air! Strong, beautiful and inspiring! #ShelleyStrong." NBA.com's David Aldridge: "Huge day and night across the sports universe, but nothing's bigger or better than seeing @ShelleyESPN back on the air! #loveya." ESPN's Heather Cox: "Welcome back @ShelleyESPN ... We missed you. Thanks for being such an inspiration to all of us. Xox."
PREVIEW PATROL: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes the "taming of the draft’s journalism by the league’s network partners reflects the peculiarity of the relationship" between sports and TV. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio "did not try to scoop" NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, while Jason La Canfora "was on CBSSports.com offering insight but not advance picks." With ESPN’s Chris Mortensen and NFL Net's Ian Rapoport, it "was the same." Fox Sports' Jay Glazer "was on a radio show during the draft, as he has been for 10 or more years." Glazer said that he has "rarely used Twitter to reach his audience with news of advance picks," as he is "more satisfied by reporting on team machinations in the days or hours before the draft." Glazer: "I work for Fox. I don’t work for Twitter. I’m not watching Twitter. I’m constantly texting to 32 teams." He said that predicting picks on the show "did not violate the league’s wishes" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/1).
POPULARITY CONTEST: Data from Facebook shows that 5.2 million people on Thursday had 12 million interactions related to Round 1 of the Draft. The five players with the most buzz were Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston, Titans QB Marcus Mariota, Raiders WR Amari Cooper, Bears WR Kevin White and Rams RB Todd Gurley, respectively (THE DAILY).
