2010 NFL Draft: Most Viewed Ever

I think it’s safe to assume the NFL Draft will be aired in primetime until the end of time. The primetime draft saw a 16% increase in viewership over last year’s Saturday and Sunday telecast.

Among NFL Network, ESPN & ESPN2, 45.4 million viewers watched the 75th version of the NFL Draft April 22-24.

The biggest increase was seen online as NFL.com registered a 125% increase from 2009. More details after the jump.

From the press release:

"A record combined total viewership of 45.4 million viewers tuned in to watch the 75th NFL Draft on NFL Network, ESPN and ESPN2 – up 16% from last year’s record of 39 million, according to Nielsen Media Research. Total NFL Draft viewership has nearly doubled over the past decade (from 23.5 million in 2001 to 45.4 million in 2010).In addition, a record 32.9 million viewers watched for at least six minutes, up 23% from last year’s 26.8 million…NFL.com set records with its coverage of the 2010 NFL Draft. There were a record 12.5 million visits to NFL.com during the Draft — up 61% from last year — and users watched 40% more video than a year ago. LIVE coverage on NFL.com also saw record growth with 1.1. million fans watching the Draft on NFL.com and watching 89% more of the Draft on NFL.com than they did last year. By the end of the Draft, fans had made more than 500,000 comments in the Fan War Rooms. In addition, there were 13 million page views on NFL.com’s mobile site, a 125% increase over a year ago. Since its launch earlier this month, NFL Mobile on Verizon has been one of the most successful and popular entertainment applications downloaded by Verizon Wireless customers.In addition, a record 12,275 fans attended the 75th NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall over the three days."

It’s clear to me that Falcons fans should receive the credit for this. No other fan base is as committed as the Dirty Birds. Great job Falcon fans!