Ohio loves its football. Nothing points to that fact more than the Nielsen Ratings that have been released for the markets that tuned into the 2020 NFL Draft. Three Ohio markets appeared on the top ten list, with Columbus being the top overall market throughout the entire draft with an 8.8 rating.
Right behind the Ohio capital city was Cleveland with an 8.7 rating. Cincinnati enjoyed a rating of 8.5, which was good for a fourth-place tie with Kansas City. Other cities in the top ten include Philadelphia (8.6), Atlanta (8.2), Jacksonville (8.1), Nashville (8.0), Milwaukee (7.8), Denver (7.0), and Baltimore (7.0).
It makes sense. Columbus is generally a top market for college football, and even though it wasn’t an Ohio State game, there were still plenty of Buckeye players being selected — ten total in fact. In addition, Columbus is a melting pot of fanbases. You have Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh fans all spread about the market, all interested in what players their teams were drafting.
2020 #NFLDraft top 10 markets @ABCNetwork | @espn | @nflnetwork
More: https://t.co/PPw11GYeXk pic.twitter.com/IZsjDPr0rv
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) April 26, 2020
Add all of this to the fact that so many fans were yearning for anything sports-related, resulting in a record number of viewers, and you basically had a perfect storm in central Ohio.
Now, can you imagine what the numbers are going to be if and when the college football season kicks off and there are actual real, live games to watch in Columbus?
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