• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Arts & Entertainment

How to Watch the 2017 NFL Draft on TV and Streaming Online

By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 27, 2017, 3:15 PM ET

The start of the next NFL season is a little over four months away, but it’s not too soon for diehard football fans to start dreaming about the future. When the 2017 NFL Draft kicks off tonight in Philadelphia at 8 p.m. ET, many of those fans will be watching closely and hoping that their favorite team drafts the league’s next superstar.

As always, there are multiple ways for fans to follow along as NFL teams make their selections, starting with coverage of the draft’s first round on Thursday. Viewers with cable subscriptions—or, in certain cases, a live-TV streaming subscription—can watch the draft live on the NFL Network and ESPN starting at 8 p.m. ET, though both networks will be providing plenty of pre-draft overage during the day leading up to the main event. Those networks will also air the rest of the draft in full, with the second and third rounds airing live on Friday, starting at 7 p.m. ET. Rounds 4-7 will start at noon on Saturday.

In addition to watching those networks’ draft coverage through a live-TV streaming provider such as SlingTV or Sony’s Playstation Vue, football fans with cable subscriptions can also watch a live-stream of this year’s draft online with ESPN’s WatchESPN app. Fans with subscriptions to the NFL Network can watch on the league’s website, or the NFL Now app on various connected devices, while Verizon users will be able to stream the draft on their mobile devices for free through the NFL Mobile app.

Fans can also use social media to keep up with the draft. While the NFL Network and ESPN have promised that staffers will not announce draft selections on social media before they are officially announced on the draft stage in Philadelphia, the networks’ official Twitter accounts, and the NFL’s official account, will likely be churning out posts with information on teams’ selections.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune‘s technology newsletter.

Meanwhile, longtime ESPN viewers will notice a big change to the Walt Disney-owned sports cable giant’s draft coverage. Trey Wingo will take over hosting duties at ESPN for Chris Berman, who had hosted the network’s draft specials every year since 1987. That move is part of Berman’s reduced role at ESPN, which was announced earlier this year. It is not connected to the decision to lay off roughly 100 on-air personalities and other staffers that the network announced on Wednesday.

The cost-cutting moves, which come amid ongoing subscriber losses that have dragged down ESPN’s advertising revenues, also meant that other football reporters and analysts such as longtime NFL reporter Ed Werder and former player Trent Dilfer would depart the network only a day before the draft.

Last year, ESPN’s coverage of the draft’s first day drew almost 6.3 million viewers, which represented a nearly 11% dip from the previous year. (The NFL Network’s first-day coverage drew 2.04 million viewers in 2016, which was a slight increase from the previous year.) Overall, the cable network’s three-day coverage drew an average of just over 3 million viewers, which was up slightly from 2015.

About the Author
By Tom Huddleston Jr.
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
In 2026, many employers are ditching merit-based pay bumps in favor of ‘peanut butter raises’
By Emma BurleighFebruary 2, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Cybersecurity
Top AI leaders are begging people not to use Moltbook, a social media platform for AI agents: It’s a ‘disaster waiting to happen’
By Eva RoytburgFebruary 2, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Meet the Palm Beach billionaire who paid $2 million for a private White House visit with Trump
By Tristan BoveFebruary 3, 2026
18 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
‘You’re not a hero, you’re a liability’: Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary warns Gen Z founders to stop glorifying hustle culture
By Jacqueline MunisFebruary 2, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, February 2, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerFebruary 2, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
President Trump just missed a key legal deadline for his spending plans—stoking economists’ fears over the $38.5 trillion national debt
By Eleanor PringleFebruary 3, 2026
23 hours ago

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

MagazineVictoria's Secret
How Victoria’s Secret got its sexy back
By Emma HinchliffeFebruary 4, 2026
40 minutes ago
C-SuiteSuccession
Bob Iger left Disney’s CEO post just before COVID exploded. Will his second exit be followed by a plot twist?
By Geoff ColvinFebruary 3, 2026
13 hours ago
Photo of Mark Fischbach
Arts & EntertainmentMovies
Meet the millennial YouTuber whose horror movie is beating Melania Trump at the box office
By Jake AngeloFebruary 3, 2026
15 hours ago
Josh D'Amaro
SuccessCareers
Disney’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro once planned to be a sculptor. He admits that ‘I don’t know’ is one of the most important phrases in his career
By Preston ForeFebruary 3, 2026
18 hours ago
Pharrell Williams
SuccessCareers
After decades in the music industry, Pharrell Williams admits he never stops working: ‘If you do what you love everyday, you’ll get paid for free’
By Emma BurleighFebruary 3, 2026
18 hours ago
bad bunny
PoliticsSuper Bowl
The NFL’s big game is ‘the woke bowl’ to half the country with only 16% of Republicans approving of Bad Bunny halftime show
By Steven Sloan, Steve Peoples and The Associated PressFebruary 3, 2026
21 hours ago