Chicago, IL – April 30, 2015 – Auditorium Theatre: Mel Kiper Jr., Jon Gruden, Louis Riddick and Chris Berman on the set during the 2015 NFL Draft Presented by Bose (Photo by Allen Kee / ESPN Images)
The countdown to the 2016 – 2017 NFL season officially begins this week. It all begins Thursday with the annual NFL draft. And ESPN will have full coverage of this year’s draft.
ESPN launches its coverage of the 2016 NFL draft Thursday night at 8pm ET live from Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. ESPN will carry Round one with limited commercial interruption for the fifth consecutive year when it begins Thursday night. It will be simulcast live on ESPN Radio nationwide. Before the network’s coverage begins, it will air a special pre-draft SportsCenter broadcast at 7pm ET that looks forward not only to the first round of the draft but all seven rounds. Speaking of those other rounds, ESPN will carry coverage of Rounds 2 and 3 live Friday evening beginning at 7pm ET from the Auditorium Theatre live on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNRadio. Rounds 4 – 7 will be covered live Saturday beginning at noon eastern. ESPN will carry coverage of Rounds 4 – 7 live from Chicago’s Grant Park.
Chris Berman will anchor ESPN’s broadcast of the draft’s first round Thursday evening. He will be joined at the desk by veteran NFL Draft Analyst Mel Kiper, Jr., ESPN Monday Night Football analyst and Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden, and NFL Front Office Insider Louis Riddick. Fellow NFL Insider Adam Schefter will be on hand along with NFL host Suzy Kolber, and a team of NFL reporters from team sites with all of the latest news throughout the first round.
Trey Wingo will anchor ESPN’s coverage of Rounds 2 – 7 over the weekend. He will be joined by Mel Kiper, Jr., NFL Front Office Insider Louis Riddick, NFL Insider Adam Schefter, and NFL Draft Analyst Todd McShay. The full broadcast schedule for this weekend’s NFL draft coverage across the ESPN networks is listed below.
ESPN NFL Draft Programming Originating from Chicago (April 28-30):
| Date | Time (ET) | Event | Network(s) |
| Thu, Apr 28 | 6-10 a.m. | Mike & Mike | ESPN Radio, ESPN2 |
| 10-11 a.m. | SportsCenter | ESPN | |
| 10 a.m.-12 p.m. | First Take | ESPN2 | |
| 1:30-2:30 p.m. | NFL Insiders | ESPN | |
| 2:30-3:30 p.m. | NFL Live | ESPN | |
| 6-7 p.m. | SportsCenter | ESPN | |
| 7-8 p.m. | SportsCenter Special: Draft Countdown | ESPN | |
| 8-11:30 p.m. | NFL Draft (Round 1) | ESPN, ESPN Radio |
|
| 11:30 p.m.-1 a.m. | SportsCenter | ESPN | |
| Fri, Apr 29 | 6-10 a.m. | Mike & Mike | ESPN Radio, ESPN2 |
| 10-11 a.m. | SportsCenter | ESPN | |
| 10 a.m.-12 p.m. | First Take | ESPN2 | |
| 1:30-2:30 p.m. | NFL Insiders | ESPN | |
| 2:30-3:30 p.m. | NFL Live | ESPN | |
| 7-11:30 p.m. | NFL Draft (Rounds 2-3) | ESPN/ESPN2, ESPN Radio | |
| Sat, Apr 30 | 12-8 p.m. | NFL Draft (Rounds 4-7) | ESPN |
Along with its domestic coverage of the NFL Draft, ESPN International will carry coverage of the NFL Draft to more than 72 million households in 59 countries and territories throughout Latin America’s Spanish-speaking regions, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. Canada will have coverage of the NFL Draft via TSN. Audiences in Mexico and Central America can get full coverage of the draft via ESPN’s ESPNPlay broadband platform. Audiences in Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil will be able to catch coverage of the NFL Draft online via WatchESPN while audiences in the rest of South America will get live coverage of Round 1 live online via ESPNPlay.
The ESPN networks’ primary draft coverage is just the tip of the iceberg for this year’s events. There will also be special, additional commentary and more across each of ESPN’s networks and platforms including but not limited to The Mel Kiper Draft Grades –the foundation of SportsCenter Special: Draft Grades on May 1st at 7pm ET on ESPN. More information on the ESPN networks’ coverage of this year’s NFL Draft is available online now at:
Website: http://espn.go.com/nfl
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NFLonESPN
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