• by Wayne Friedman , April 24, 2009

For the last several years, ESPN has scored big results from its NFL draft coverage.

With multiple teams vying for top USC quarterback Mark Sanchez -- and all the possible trade machinations -- this year's event is expected to again attract big viewership.

ESPN's coverage has grabbed more than 5 million viewers over the last three seasons -- with the last two down somewhat from the record 5.3 million viewers the network earned in 2006. In 2007, ESPN took in 5.098 million -- and in 2008, 5.034 million, per Nielsen Media Research.

The NFL moved its Saturday draft coverage from noon to 3 p.m. to build more viewership. Coors Light is the presenting sponsor on ESPN's draft day coverage.

Both ESPN2 and NFL Network, which in recent years has also had NFL draft coverage, have seen increases in viewership in 2008 versus 2007. ESPN2 went to 1.9 million from 1.7 million; the NFL Network grew to 496,000 from 351,000.

The NFL is looking for more -- and the league is moving the start of the draft to 4:00 p.m. EST. Nielsen says this means "even more of the first round will air in prime time on the East Coast." It adds that the West Coast can now catch the first pick at 1:00 p.m. PST, instead of a 9:00 a.m. start.

ESPN2's best results came from an earlier time for its coverage. In 2005, it recorded 2.2 million viewers when it started airing draft picks at 5:30 p.m., earlier than the 7 p.m. start time it originally had.

The high-water mark for draft TV viewership came in 2006, with ESPN's average of 5.3 million viewers with Mario Williams going as the first pick, and other big stars being drafted, including Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler.