The 2020 NFL Draft: A Virtual Success
The NFL Draft has evolved from a red carpet at Radio City Music Hall, to a block party in Nashville, to what would have been a floating spectacle in Las Vegas, and ultimately into a virtual and technological experience. COVID-19 has put the sporting world on hold since March, but this past weekend gave everyone a chance to enjoy one of the biggest events in sports. Only this time there was no red carpet, no stage, and no handshakes and hugs with the Commissioner.
The Virtual NFL Draft was broadcasted over three networks, picked up by digital first and mobile platforms, had a Twitch watch party, and garnered record-breaking viewership numbers.
NFL Draft Day 1 Viewership Up 37% YoY (2019 to 2020) NFL Draft Total Viewership Up 19% YoY (2019 to 2020)
This year’s record 15.6M Previous high 2014 12.4M This year’s record 55M Last year’s total: 47M
According to the NFL, the total viewership numbers for night one of the draft was 15.6 million across the television networks and digital platforms. This broke the previous high of 12.4 million in 2014, up 37% from last year’s draft with 11.4 million viewers. The audience numbers peaked around 8:45 pm ET at 19.6 million viewers when the Miami Dolphins selected Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with the 5th overall pick. Viewership numbers were at record highs, but the technology and the virtual aspect of the draft are what should be highlighted.
ESPN Broadcast
First, the flagship sports network, ESPN brought viewers the analysis they are accustomed to with new twists on old traditions. Commissioner Roger Goodell was broadcast from his home fan cave announcing the picks in front of a small production crew. Behind the Commissioner was a tv screen filled with fans that changed with the team making the selection. Then new technology enabled league sponsor, Bud Light to promote an innovative promotional campaign. Boo the Commish allowed fans to donate to COVID-19 relief and send recordings of themselves booing the Commissioner, a virtual version of a draft tradition. The broadcast featured a cast of analysts from separate locations to predict and analyze the selections throughout the evening. The broadcast never seemed ad-heavy in disrupting the experience and during commercial breaks, a live ticker scrolling on the bottom of the screen kept viewers informed. Many sponsors were appropriately integrated into the content. Whenever a trade occurred, NFL Insider Adam Schefter provided viewers with an effective “Auto Trader Trade Alert”. Video and audio delivery were almost perfect throughout the draft. The only noticeable flaw was a slightly longer delay whenever the host Trey Wingo would toss to Louis Riddick. Surprisingly, most of the coaches and GMs had no problem with the webcam setups in their homes, but we did receive a couple of great moments with Cowboys Head Coach Mike McCarthy, and an aspiring four-legged NFL Executive from New England.
ABC Broadcast
ABC’s broadcast was similar to ESPN’s but offered a different point of view for the viewers. Although it had the same graphics packages, which might have reminded viewers of a Monday Night football game, ABC catered to their broader based and “new to the draft” audience with more “up close and personal” content streamed from the homes of players. Another set of analysts provided their insight and assessments of the selections but had the luxury of conducting interviews with the players throughout the evening. This gave the casual fans and home-bound families a new less hard-core sports option from the constant flow of prediction, pick, and analysis featured on ESPN. The overall broadcast was also without any major technological issues, however, unlike ESPN, once a commercial break came there was no ticker across the bottom for the viewers.
Yahoo Sports - Mobile
The Virtual Draft also offered fans a mobile viewing experience across different platforms. Yahoo Sports created a mobile experience offering another point of view for fans. The mobile app provided news updating in a stream, a draft tracker, and live video with multiple analysts. To view the live video, audiences would have to leave the news stream. A nice feature would have included chat capability to interact with other fans. However, the video did include innovative closed captioning functionality. If fans muted the audio, closed captioning would automatically render. Yahoo was smart to include college coaches throughout the evening to provide insights on players’ college experience.
Bleacher Report - Mobile
Bleacher Report was another mobile option that offered an immersive experience for fans. The app had a live video broadcast featuring three analysts within the news stream, as well as a full-screen option but lacked closed captioning. The broadcast focused on selections and analysis and was often the first to deliver news of the selections. The experience included a news stream, live draft tracker, and chat capability where fans could comment below the video. Bleacher Report provided a truly immersive fan experience.
Draft-A -Thon on Twitch
The NFL also partnered with Twitch to host a Draft-A-Thon Live event that helped raise money for COVID-19 relief. The stream featured Rich Eisen and Deion Sanders hosting former and current NFL players, celebrities, and college coaches throughout the draft. You could make donations, chat, and watch the live draft tracker located at the bottom of the screen. Viewers were not able to access information about the selections and this was not the platform for in-depth analysis of a corner’s ability to play man coverage or zone defense. However, given that Twitch reaches younger audiences, having Kevin Hart and Lil Wayne talk about their favorite teams and players was a great way to engage the youth market. The live stream was a successful endeavor that had, according to the NFL, 7 million total viewers and in excess of 26 million minutes watched across the digital and social properties. Just another example of the NFL looking to expand reach with “future fans” coming off their announcement to broadcast a playoff game on Nickelodeon later this year.
Final Thoughts
The weekend did not disappoint from a fan perspective. Multiple broadcasts, multiple platforms, and the ability to choose are geared towards serving the Fluid Fan. The viewing experience was smooth, and the few camera slip-ups actually created comical and memorable moments. However, there were innovative opportunities missed across all the platforms that would have enabled new ways to connect with fans. Having e-commerce options on digital platforms would have provided fans an option to buy merchandise. Fans in Cincinnati have been creating their own Joe Burrow jerseys for months now, and everyone knew he would be selected first overall. One would think the Bengals could have worked out Joe’s number to have jerseys ready for “real time” sale. A quick popup on the mobile experience or a small ad in the corner of the broadcast with a promo code to buy “first to have” merchandise would have been a great way to serve fans and drive business across the ecosystem. Also, this was the first real sporting event fans could truly wager on in months. Displaying betting odds across all platforms and even mentioning them on the broadcast would have added an intriguing element for fans, even for viewers in states that don’t allow sports gambling. ESPN had betting lines on their national XFL broadcasts, so we know it’s possible. A great example being Alabama’s speedy Henry Ruggs III. He was a bit of a surprise as the first wide receiver off the board but made some betters very happy with 50/1 odds to be the first wideout taken. Was it a coincidence he was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders, the sports betting hub of America? Maybe, but it would have been a great talking point for an analyst.
While there were some missed opportunities to incorporate new technologies to engage fans in different ways, this was a success for the NFL, its media partners and sports fans that have been waiting for any kind of “live sports” for too long. It was also the second league that won big with a virtual draft this month. The WNBA Draft hosted a virtual draft on April 21st and was the most-watched WNBA draft in 16 years. Up 123 percent from last year and up 33 percent from the last time it aired on ESPN in 2011. Another experience that ran smoothly over webcams and from various locations. Could this be the new normal for the remaining leagues that need to draft this year? With the NBA and NHL seasons in limbo, there are questions on when drafts may be held, but there may not be a question on how they should hold them.