NEW YORK — The first round of the NFL draft averaged 13.6 million viewers across television and digital platforms Thursday night, according to the league and Nielsen.
It was the second-most watched first round on record.
The draft was televised on ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes and NFL Network as well as being available online. It is an 11% increase over last year, which averaged 12.3 million viewers.
The first-round record remains 15.5 million in 2020, when the NFL did not hold an in-person draft due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NFL also announced that 205,000 fans attended the first round in person in Green Bay, Wisconsin.