Kentucky Derby, NFL draft pull in television viewers

Two sports events last week, the Kentucky Derby and first round of the NFL draft, pulled in more television viewers than the Academy Awards less than two weeks earlier

NEW YORK -- Two sporting events last week — the Kentucky Derby and first round of the NFL draft — pulled in more television viewers than the Oscars, something inconceivable only a couple of years ago. The Nielsen company said 14.5 million people watched Medina Spirit win the Derby on Saturday, and all the surrounding hoopla of the event, on NBC. The draft's opening, televised on ABC, ESPN and the NFL Network, reached 12.6 million people combined. Less than two weeks earlier the Academy Awards, once one of the most-watched events of the year, barely topped 10 million viewers. NBC Sports couldn't resist tweeting out over the weekend that the Derby was watched by more people than any entertainment awards show this cycle. The event also added to the legend of NBC statistics maven Steve Kornacki, the only one on the network to correctly predict the winner.