The NFL Draft is headed to ABC, as the television network will present all three days of the 2019 draft, with ESPN and the NFL Network producing their own telecasts on the first two days.
There’s no doubt that the NFL is the powerhouse in American sports, and the three-day extravaganza that is the NFL Draft is the pinnacle of its offseason entertainment.
While nothing approaches the Super Bowl in terms of fanfare and spotlight, the draft may be a close second, offering teams a chance to change their fortunes with the right draft selections, as fans have seen in 2018 with Cleveland Browns first- and second-round selections Baker Mayfield and Nick Chubb, respectively.
ESPN announced that ABC will broadcast all three days of the 2019 NFL Draft for the first time in the network’s history. The fact that ABC is willing to give primetime slots to the draft’s first two days isn’t a surprise, but it is confirmation of how huge the NFL is now.
While the first round is the huge draw and features the biggest names in college football, including possible franchise-changers like Mayfield this year, the second and third rounds seem to be nearly as coveted.
ABC won’t be the only place to find televised NFL Draft coverage, though, as ESPN and the NFL Network will still be running telecasts for the first two days of the draft.
NFL diehards can tune in to ABC for live coverage of the draft’s third day, which takes fans from the fourth round all the way to the seventh round, as ABC will telecasts ESPN’s coverage of Day 3.
The 2019 NFL Draft will be hosted by Nashville and will take place from Apr. 25-27. Per the release from ESPN, personalties from both ESPN and ABC will take viewers through live draft coverage on the first two nights, which could lead to some interesting combinations of analysts.
Round 1 will be broadcast on Thursday, April 25 at 7 p.m. ET, Round 2 will start on April 26 at 7 p.m. ET, and Round 4 will began at noon ET on Saturday, as is customary.
The NFL set viewership records for the draft last year, with ABC’s simulcast of Day 3 in 2018 setting an all-time record for most views of the draft’s third day.
Fans are more interested than ever in tracking their team’s late-round picks, making ABC’s decision to produce live coverage of the NFL Draft during peak hours even easier to understand.