NFL Draft’s move to Thursday night is terrible news for fans
Jul 24, 2009 at 10:07 AM
•
For the past 15 years, the NFL's annual extravaganza, the NFL Draft, has taken place on Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday, the NFL announced that in 2010, the draft will move from a two day weekend event and now span three days beginning on a Thursday. Matt Maiocco of the Press Democrat
seems to like the idea. Being a beat writer, the move makes covering the event easier for him and those in his profession. While I certainly understand his perspective on this move, for fans, this sounds like a terrible decision.
This year, NFL Network and ESPN's draft coverage received a record 39 million viewers. In April of 2010, the first round will take place on Thursday at 4:30pm, the second round will begin on Friday at 3:30pm (followed by the third round), and the remainder of the draft (rounds 4-7) will take place on Saturday.
"Thursdays are a good night for television, and that's exactly what the NFL has in mind with its decision to change the format of the draft," says Maiocco.
This move is to make the draft more accessible to fans according to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. "Moving the first round to prime time on Thursday night will make the first round of the draft available to fans on what is typically the most-watched night of television," said Goodell. While this is all good and fine for fans on the East Coast, where the draft will begin at 7:30pm Eastern, this is a bit of a problem for fans on the West Coast, where the start of the draft overlaps with a little thing called work. You throw in a 3:30pm start on Friday and you are now making the situation even tougher for the die-hard fans who love to watch the coverage live.
Even for this site, the NFL Draft was already the busiest two days of year and the staff works hard to make sure that the fan experience is a good one. Taking place on a weekend, this was not too difficult. It just created a rather busy weekend and locked us at home for a good chunk of the two days.
There are a number of NFL fans who used to go out of their way for the NFL Draft. Some fans would plan parties, travel to visit and watch with friends, or hit the local sports bars for top selections in the first round. After all, this event was the beginning of a new season for most fans. This new schedule makes planning such activities increasingly difficult.
Fan reaction does not appear to be very good. The following are some of the more interesting fan comments on Matt Maiocco's blog:
I don't like it one bit. I think it takes away from the fun of NFL Draft weekend. A lot of fans (myself included) use that weekend to get together friends and family ... We make a party out of the event every year. Now with this new format, we probably won't be able to do that!
- Patrick
I don't like it. The First day of the NFL draft is a special day for us die-hard fans. It's a time of getting together, arguing, laughing, and speculation. I have been sharing it for years with my friends who truly follow football. In fact I didn't like this year's change to a later hour.
- Marco from Stockton
So, instead of stretching over one of my work days, it now stretches over two of them.
- HaikenEdge
Gone are days when the NFL Draft was a fun event for fans. It's all business now. As one other fan comments, "It stinks of commercialism, which is already running rampant in the NFL." The NFL is throwing the average fan aside and looking at the amount of revenue they can make by pushing it into the changed timeslots.
And what happens with the annual party that the San Francisco 49ers used to throw for the fans? With a 4:30pm start time, this complicates things a bit.
The sports world always tends to make moves with an East Coast bias. This change is no different.
*
Quoted comments from Instant 49ers. Used with Matt Maiocco's permission.
What are your thoughts on the move? Comment below.
The opinions within this article are those of the writer and, while just as important, are not necessarily those of the site as a whole.
-
frank
You can look at it another way too. For us fans that like to watch the draft alone it means we've got to less days to have to wait for the draft.
Jul 25, 2009 at 6:34 AM
-
Kendrick Wells
Here Here. I agree that it sucks to move the event. Roger Goodell and this new greedy assed NFL better start realizing when enough is enough. The reason they have so many viewers because there is no competition. The NFL is no longer happy with its place, it is starting to want more. Games in Europe?.... Thursday night games ... a longer season.... extorting hawaii to pay nfl for pro bowl rights....... seat licences and cities cutting ripoff deals to keep a team, (or steal one) and oh yeah, fantasy football. Baseball and basketball keep empty seats empty because they have saturated their product to hell. NFL better get back to the business of keeping it simple. forget fans in japan, hopefully when the ratings come back they will learn when they see they lost viewers.
Jul 25, 2009 at 1:49 AM
-
C.A. Grimes
I don't think that it's a bad move at all. If you're working during the weekend like I do, then you'll just TiVo it anyway on Thursday and Friday. I don't get the live coverage like I would on the weekends but at least I can pretend it was live. lol
Jul 24, 2009 at 11:40 AM
More San Francisco 49ers News
Insiders identify late risers who 49ers could target in NFL Draft
With the 2024 NFL Draft less than a week away, ESPN contributors have highlighted some prospects who have seen their draft stock rise throughout the evaluation process. Jordan Reid and Matt Miller pinpointed players who could hear their names called at the end of the first round.
Interestingly, both of the prospects identified by Reid and Miller play in the trenches but on different sides of the ball. The San Francisco 49ers are widely expected to draft an offensive lineman with their first selection—No. 31 overall. The team mostly ignored the group in free agency. However, it wouldn't surprise many people if the
No Huddle Podcast: 49ers Draft Plans With ESPN's Matt Miller
(Episode 329) — Al Sacco is joined by ESPN NFL draft analyst and insider Matt Miller to discuss the best prospect fits for the 49ers, his connection to the 49ers, how the 49ers improve their receiver corp, the state of QB play in the NFL, and more.
The audio for the show is embedded above. Remember to subscribe!
You can watch the interview below.
You can listen to the latest "No Huddle Podcast"
49ers address both sides of the ball in latest Kiper 2-round mock draft
The San Francisco 49ers have overhauled their defensive line in free agency, bidding farewell to defensive tackle Arik Armstead and defensive end Chase Young while bolstering their ranks with the signings of defensive ends Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos. Additionally, they acquired defensive tackle Maliek Collins via trade.
Having focused primarily on the defensive side of the ball in free agency, the 49ers are widely anticipated to turn their attention to the offensive side in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Long-standing ESPN analyst Mel Kiper unveiled his latest mock draft, this
PFF mock draft has 49ers adding cornerback with 'unique fluidity and size'
Analyst Steve Palazzolo unveiled a first-round mock draft for Pro Football Focus, attempting to forecast the selections for each NFL team within the top 32 picks. While the San Francisco 49ers concentrated on strengthening the defensive line in free agency, Palazzolo envisions the team continuing to fortify that side of the ball.
In his mock draft, Palazzolo predicts that the 49ers will select former Iowa State cornerback T.J. Tampa with the No. 31 overall pick.
"Tampa's unique fluidity and size for a cornerback make him worthy of a top-75 pick," reads the analysis from Pro Football Focus' big board. "If he can clean up his footwork, he can
