April 16, 2007
Nets share the stage at draft
By Pete Williams
Correspondent
For more than two decades, ESPN had the NFL draft all to itself, creating a cult following of draftniks and Mel Kiper Jr. wannabes. Last year, the NFL Network joined the fray, offering a second channel of analysts, commentary and endless B-roll.
Executives from both networks say there’s room for both given the insatiable appetite of fans for draft information, and both will unleash their vast resources on draft weekend. Like last year, there again will be a spirit of cooperation, which might seem unusual if the NFL did not own its own network and have a long-standing relationship with ESPN.
“We’re friends, rivals, partners and competitors,” said Charles Coplin, who as the NFL Network’s vice president of programming, as well as a former ESPN executive, has seen all sides of the relationship. “One way or the other, we want you to watch the NFL draft.”
ESPN still holds a big draft-day advantage, both in market penetration (95 million homes to 40 million) and in on-air talent experience, and name recognition. Though the NFL Network’s talent pool of Rich Eisen, reporter Adam Schefter and draft guru Mike Mayock has developed a following, most NFL fans still think of the draft in terms of Chris Berman, Chris Mortensen and, of course, Mel Kiper Jr.
“We’ve proven that we are the voice of record for the NFL draft,” said Jay Rothman, ESPN’s longtime senior coordinating producer for the draft. “At the same time, it’s such an intense and massive job and I respect that they’re doing gavel-to-gavel coverage.”
Rothman points out that ESPN controls the announcement of picks, though that’s more a function of tradition than pecking order. During the first round, when a team representative delivers a card to the podium, ESPN cues its staff to wrap up what it’s doing, whether an interview or pre-taped segment. When everyone is ready, the commissioner is cued to walk to the podium.
“But [NFL Network] is on the same feed and there’s full cooperation,” Rothman said.
All the talk of mutual respect and cooperation between the networks might signal that there’s at least a truce on draft weekend. The rest of the year, however, there’s a battle to be television’s draft source of record.
The NFL Network, with its one-sport focus, has expanded its coverage of every stepping stone on the road to the NFL, or the “Path to the Draft,” as its 50-episode series that debuted in mid-February is called.
“We’re on every day talking specifically about the NFL draft,” said Eric Weinberger, the NFL Network’s coordinating producer for “NFL Total Access” and the draft. “That separates us from everyone.”
This year, NFL Network televised two college football bowl games, replaced ESPN as broadcaster of the Senior Bowl postseason all-star game, expanded its exclusive coverage of the NFL scouting combine (20 hours live), and even televised the “pro day” workouts of players at schools such as LSU, Texas and USC in March.
As recently as 2004, there was no television coverage of the combine, the February tracklike workout of draft-eligibleplayers in Indianapolis. Coplin said that when NFL Network officials approached the league’s competition committee, some gave the same incredulous response that former NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle gave ESPN when it expressed interest in televising the draft years ago.
ESPN, meanwhile, has stepped up its pre-draft and NFL free agency coverage, even during college basketball’s March Madness. Mortensen, Kiper and Darren Woodson have broken down each team’s draft needs during lengthy “On the Clock” draft segments. Pre-draft coverage on ESPN.com, once mostly the domain of Kiper, has been greatly expanded.
Rothman said ESPN will streamline its draft-day coverage, eliminating the rotating crew used on the set of “Cold Pizza” in recent years. There still will be multiple sets, including use of the revamped “Monday Night Football” team of Mike Tirico, Tony Kornheiser and Ron Jaworski.
Keyshawn Johnson, the outspoken Carolina Panthers wide receiver, will join ESPN’s main set at Radio City Music Hall. The ex-Jet figures to be popular among the live audience and his hiring is timely, with Georgia Tech’s Calvin Johnson a candidate to become the first receiver drafted first overall since Keyshawn Johnson in 1996.
“Keyshawn is a big get for us,” Rothman said. “We think he can be the NFL’s version of Charles Barkley on television.”
The NFL Network plans to have more reports from the field this season and a greater degree of viewer interactivity, with e-mails read on air. “We’re going to empower them to be their own draft analysts,” Weinberger said.
Weinberger points out that while ESPN’s draft reporting and analysis will taper off in the days following draft weekend, giving way to other sports, NFL Network will continue its coverage.
“We’ll be in position to start talking about the 2008 draft immediately,” Weinberger said.
Read about Pete Williams' book THE DRAFT here
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