Fox network reportedly will be televising NFL draft this year
NFL draft fans won’t have a tough time finding the event on their televisions this season.
According to a report from Pro Football Talk, Fox will televise the NFL draft this year. So will ESPN. And NFL Network will carry the event too.
According to PFT’s report, it is believed Fox will be simulcasting NFL Network’s coverage. Even if it’s an NFLN simulcast, it’s a new frontier for the NFL draft being on a major network.
The draft continues to grow. The NFL has expanded the draft to three days, so it could show the first round on a Thursday night. It has moved the event to different locations after years in New York City. The draft was in Chicago two years ago, Philadelphia last year and will be in the Dallas area this year. And the event’s viewership keeps growing with it. According to CNN, the television ratings for the event were up six percent last season and drew the second-highest viewership in draft history.
The move to Fox also presents a challenge for for ESPN, which has broadcast the draft for decades, all the way back to when it wasn’t a marquee sporting event in the spring. The NFL Network has also been broadcasting the draft for some years in competition with ESPN, but the move to Fox presents a whole new challenge for the sports network.
The NFL is banking on the draft continuing to grow, and the ratings probably will with a move to a traditional network. It’s an interesting draft, with quarterbacks Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen all expected to go early in the first round.
The NFL keeps pushing the limits on how much draft coverage it can give fans before it maxes out. Given the addition of Fox to the coverage this year, the NFL apparently feels there is still more growth possible.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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