By The Associated Press
The NFL draft drew record numbers both on site and on television.
The league said Monday that more than 600,000 attended over the three days in Nashville, easily eclipsing the 250,000 that came to watch two years ago in Philadelphia.
"Are you guys more into actual cowboys or Dallas Cowboys?""...Ummm... actual cowboys!?"@johnbreech & @willbrinson find out how bachelorettes are dealing with the NFL shocking their dream weekend. pic.twitter.com/tFULTyEHSy
— Pick Six Podcast (@picksixpod)
April 28, 2019 I’ll tell you who’s not happy about the NFL Draft in Nashville... People who planned their bachelorette parties with no idea this was happening! @FOXNashville pic.twitter.com/dd3VnbRkIl
— Kathleen Jacob FOX17 (@Kathleenjjacob)
April 25, 2019 NFL Draft vs. Bachelorettes - It's safe to Cyndi and Cara aren't happy. https://t.co/Zqg2SP7NWn #NFLDraft19 #Nashville #Fox17Draft #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/drmWwDXZuu
— FoxNashville (@FOXNashville)
April 26, 2019 This is my personal FYRE festival. pic.twitter.com/trXJ2RedYB
— Cyndi Lundeberg (@cyndilundeberg)
April 26, 2019 Only we would accidentally plan my bachelorette party on the same weekend/location as the NFL draft --
— Abby Chicka (@abbychicka)
April 25, 2019 Nielsen reports that the draft on ESPN, ABC and NFL Network averaged 6.1 million viewers at any given time over the three days. The draft averaged 5.5 million viewers last year, which was the first time all seven rounds were on broadcast television.
The average numbers were up despite the ratings for Thursday's first round being flat. The combined average for the three networks was 11.1 million, which was down from last year's 11.2 million. The ABC broadcast averaged 4.5 million, which was up 21 percent from last year's 3.7 million that watched on Fox.
"By every metric — from the hundreds of thousands of fans who filled the streets of Nashville to the record-breaking ratings and viewership — this event was an unqualified success," Peter O'Reilly, the NFL's executive vice president for club business and league events, said in an email.
Next year's draft is slated to take place in Las Vegas and will be the first significant event hosted by the Raiders in their new home city. The Raiders will play their final season in Oakland this year before moving to Nevada.___More AP NFL:
https://apnews.com/NFL and
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