When FOX announced that it would simulcast the NFL draft with NFL Network, it appeared to mark a major defeat for ESPN, whose draft broadcast would lose in the ratings race to the combined forces of a broadcast network and the league-owned cable channel. But ESPN isn’t going down without a fight.
ESPN now plans to broadcast the first two nights of the draft on both ESPN and ESPN2, and to simulcast Saturday’s draft coverage on both ESPN and ABC, according to the New York Post. The joint ESPN-ESPN2 broadcast will apparently give viewers a choice of two different broadcasts, an approach ESPN has previously used with big college football games.
The NFL has made the draft the signature event of its offseason, and no one has done more to help the league build it up than ESPN. But NFL Network has been chipping away at ESPN’s audience share the last few years, and when FOX agreed to put the draft on broadcast television, that looked like a serious blow to ESPN.
The decision to beef up its draft coverage is a statement from ESPN that it wants to remain viewers’ first choice as the home of the NFL draft. And it’s good news for fans, who will have more alternatives than ever for watching the draft.
