It is a big draw to watch large men get evaluated as they run around and exercise on an indoor field. The NFL Scouting Combine drew a massive audience, both on television and online, according to a release by the league. The press release claims that the four live windows of the Scouting Combine combined to produce a “total unduplicated audience of over five million viewers” for the NFL Network.
NFL Network’s four live NFL Combine windows last week (Thursday through Sunday) saw an 11% jump.
That’s an 11% improvement over last year’s event, according to Sports Business Journal, which reports that “the four live windows averaged 244,000 viewers, up from 219,000 in 2023. In 2022 and 2021, there were ABC or ESPN windows included in the numbers.”
The best-performing window was the Saturday afternoon session because it had the QBs, WRs, and RBs (390,000). Because you know what they say: “Offense sells tickets.” The 390K is a decently sized surge over last year, which drew 329,000. However, that comes with a caveat, as the 2023 edition had TEs running drills in that session instead of RBs. Running backs are the second most high profile/glamor position, behind only the quarterback.
There are two ways to look at these Nielsen numbers. By NFL viewing standards, these are very meager and miniscule. Compared to other sports, these ratings are extremely impressive. There are very meaningful prime-time games in the NBA, NHL, and major conference college basketball that don’t draw audiences this big. Unless you actually work for a television network, news stories about ratings only interest you when A.) they break all-time records, B.) they are egregiously and laughably low, or C) unique oddities like this.
While it may seem odd to consider the Combine a spectator sport, these numbers show that for some people, watching young dudes do drills and exercises to chase their dreams is big-time entertainment.