Newsflash: People like football. Even in springtime.
Per a league press release, the 2021 NFL Draft was seen by an average audience of 6.1 million viewers (TV and digital) across NFL Network, ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes and digital channels during the three-day event, making it the third most-watched draft ever.
The three most-watched drafts in NFL history have occurred in the last three years: 2019 (6.2 million), 2020 (8.3 million), 2021 (6.1 million).
The city of Cleveland, which hosted the proceedings, averaged a 10.9 HH rating, which was the highest-rated local market for 2021 and the highest host city draft rating on record since different cities began hosting the event in 2015.
Digitally, the draft delivered an AMA of 261,000 across NFL O&O, ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ABC platforms, up 36 percent vs. 2019 (192,000).
The second annual virtual Draft-a-Thon live fundraiser had an average daily reach of 5 million devices and 17 million total views across NFL O&O, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Yahoo, Reddit, Twitch and AVOD platforms.
The 2022 NFL Draft will take place April 28-30 in Las Vegas.