We know that the NFL is king when it comes to television, but it proves it every year with the NFL Draft. The first round of the NFL draft had 11.01 million viewers.

The NFL did it across three channels. The draft aired on ABC, ESPN, and the NFL Network. The competition wasn’t that great. The NBA only had one game on and the Nuggets-Spurs hasn’t had a great game outside of when Jamal Murray caught fire early in the series. Every other game was kind of boring and one-sided. That game garnered 1.8 million viewers. The NHL had two games and neither of those games came close. The Bruins-Blue Jackets game had1.4 million viewers and the Stars-Blues had just over 1 million.

There is always a discussion about the draft, the NFL, and oversaturation. Fans keep proving that a saturation point may not exist. The draft was on three channels. Eleven million people decided to watch a name be called and players walk across a stage rather than watch real, live sports action. It sounds funny to think that people would rather watch the commissioner call names out for four hours rather than watch actual sports, but the United States love football and the draft is all about hope.

The NFL continues to make the draft one of its marquee events because fans have decided that it is must-see television. It’s doubtful that will change any time soon.