The Cleveland Browns had the No. 3 pick in this year’s NFL draft, but Cleveland posted the highest local-market rating for ESPN’s first-round coverage of the NFL draft among 56 markets metered by Nielsen Media Research. Ratings reflect ESPN’s April 23 draft coverage, from noon to 5:30 p.m. ET, which nationally was the week’s top cable sports program with an average 4.3 coverage-area rating.
The market with the draft’s top pick, San Francisco, tied for No. 20 among the metered markets. The Miami Dolphins had the No. 2 pick in the draft, but the Miami TV market ranked No. 13. NFL team markets are listed in bold below, with Milwaukee representing the Green Bay Packers’ team market. Buffalo, Denver, and both the New York Jets and Giants did not have first-round selections in this year’s draft.
| Rank | Market (market size*) | Avg. rating/share
(Rating change from 2004) |
| 1 | Cleveland (16) | 8.2/18 (+82.2%) |
| 2t | Nashville (30) | 7.1/15 (+10.9%) |
| 2t | Columbus (34) | 7.1/14 (+1.4%) |
| 2t | Dayton, Ohio (56) | 7.1/14 (+77.5%) |
| 5 | Jacksonville (52) | 7.0/15 (0.0%) |
| 6 | Pittsburgh (22) | 6.8/15 (+1.5%) |
| 7 | Atlanta (9) | 6.7/14 (+52.3%) |
| 8 | New Orleans (43) | 6.5/13 (0.0%) |
| 9 | Detroit (10) | 6.1/12 (+29.8%) |
| 10 | Minneapolis-St. Paul (14) | 6.0/17 (+122.2%) |
| 11 | Milwaukee (32) | 5.8/13 (+16.0%) |
| 12 | Cincinnati (33) | 5.7/12 (+11.8%) |
| 13 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale (17) | 5.6/13 (+47.4%) |
| 14 | Kansas City (31) | 5.3/13 (+39.5%) |
| 15 | Richmond, Va. (61) | 5.2/12 (+52.9%) |
| 16 | Norfolk, Va. (41) | 5.0/11 (+31.6%) |
| 17t | San Diego (26) | 4.9/15 (-34.7%) |
| 17t | Dallas-Fort Worth (7) | 4.9/12 (-24.6%) |
| 17t | Indianapolis (25) | 4.9/11 (+63.3%) |
| 20t | San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (6) | 4.7/14 (+62.1%) |
| 20t | Buffalo (46) | 4.7/10 (+23.7%) |
| 22 | Tampa-St. Petersburg (13) | 4.6/11 (+15.0%) |
| 23t | Washington (8) | 4.5/11 (+9.8%) |
| 23t | Birmingham, Ala. (40) | 4.5/10 (+50.0%) |
| 23t | St. Louis (21) | 4.5/10 (+4.7%) |
| 26t | Providence, R.I. (49) | 4.4/11 (+12.8%) |
| 26t | Las Vegas (51) | 4.4/9 (-18.5%) |
| 26t | Memphis (44) | 4.4/9 (+2.3%) |
| 29 | Oklahoma City (45) | 4.3/10 (-30.6%) |
| 30 | Baltimore (23) | 4.2/10 (+44.8%) |
| 31t | West Palm Beach, Fla. (39) | 4.1/11 (-6.8%) |
| 31t | Philadelphia (4) | 4.1/8 (-8.9%) |
| 33t | Austin, Texas (54) | 4.0/11 (+8.1%) |
| 33t | Charlotte (28) | 4.0/10 (-23.1%) |
| 33t | Orlando-Daytona Beach, Fla. (20) | 4.0/9 (+17.6%) |
| 36 | Chicago (3) | 3.9/9 (+39.3%) |
| 37 | Boston (5) | 3.7/9 (+15.6%) |
| 38t | Seattle-Tacoma (12) | 3.5/10 (+66.7%) |
| 38t | Sacramento (19) | 3.5/8 (-20.5%) |
| 38t | Knoxville, Tenn. (59) | 3.5/7 (+9.4%) |
| 38t | Louisville, Ky. (50) | 3.5/7 (+20.7%) |
| 42 | Raleigh-Durham, N.C. (29) | 3.4/8 (-15.0%) |
| 43 | Tulsa, Okla. (60) | 3.1/8 (-46.6%) |
| 44 | Salt Lake City (36) | 3.0/11 (+15.4%) |
| 45t | Portland (24) | 2.9/8 (+20.8%) |
| 45t | Houston (11) | 2.9/7 (-37.0%) |
| 47t | Fort Myers-Naples, Fla. (68) | 2.8/7 (-3.4%) |
| 47t | San Antonio (37) | 2.8/7 (-24.3%) |
| 49t | Denver (18) | 2.6/8 (-29.7%) |
| 49t | Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem, N.C. (48) | 2.6/6 (-16.1%) |
| 49t | Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.-Asheville, N.C. (35) | 2.6/6 (+23.8%) |
| 52t | Los Angeles (2) | 2.3/7 (-30.3%) |
| 52t | New York (1) | 2.3/5 (-28.1%) |
| 54 | Phoenix (15) | 1.9/5 (-36.7%) |
| 55t | Albuquerque-Santa Fe, N.M. (47) | 1.6/5 (-38.5%) |
| 55t | Hartford-New Haven, Conn. (27) | 1.6/4 (-40.7%) |
| * Rank among all U.S. markets by number of TV households |
| Research by Katherine Johnson-Reid, SportsBusiness Daily |
| Source: Nielsen Media Research |
