NFL Network Finishes With Its Best Three-Day Draft Viewership Yet

NFL Network averaged 566,000 viewers for its three-day coverage of the '11 NFL Draft, the net’s best mark ever for the event. The net’s previous record was set last year with 560,000 viewers. NFL Network’s coverage of Round One last Thursday night averaged 1.04 million viewers, marking the net’s best Round One audience ever. Friday night also marked the net’s best Rounds Two and Three ever with 549,000 viewers. On Saturday afternoon, the net’s coverage of Day Three of the Draft saw viewership rise 7% from '10.

ESPN’s saw its three-day viewership for this year’s Draft drop significantly from last year, when the net earned its best NFL Draft audience ever. The net’s coverage of the first round averaged 6.003 million viewers, down 17.7% from 7.290 million viewers for the first round’s primetime debut last year. ESPN and ESPN2 combined to average 2.386 million viewers on Friday night during Rounds Two and Three, down 28%.