NFL draft gets double coverage
ESPN and the NFL Network are looking forward to the weekend's NFL draft, and executives from both networks claim not to care what the other is doing.
"I don't even worry about it, to be honest," said ESPN senior coordinating producer Jay Rothman.
NFL Network producer Mark Loomis said, "We don't spend much time talking about what they're doing as compared to what we're doing."
Each network has its own advantages. ESPN has covered the draft for 27 years, while the NFL Network is doing it for just the second. Then again, the latter is owned by -- no mystery here -- the NFL.
"Well, I've been hearing that question since I got here, that we have all this inside information, we know this and that," said Loomis. "The reality is we really don't; we have inside information only because our announcers and our people have relationships with different teams, just like any other network would. So we don't have any inside information, per se, but we do have a lot of information because our guys work all year on the NFL."
ESPN and ESPN2 will have 18 hours of coverage, starting with "SportsCenter" tomorrow at 11 a.m. leading up to the telecast at noon. ESPN2 picks up the coverage from 8-10 p.m. Sunday's coverage, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., is on ESPN2.
Chris Berman hosts tomorrow's coverage at Radio City Music Hall in New York. He'll be joined by Mel Kiper Jr., analysts Chris Mortensen and Steve Young, and Carolina Panthers wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson. The network is also using its "Monday Night Football" team, and reports will originate from Tampa, Oakland, and Pittsburgh, with video-conferencing from all 32 team sites.
The NFL Network, which will also set up shop at Radio City Music Hall (not far from ESPN), will also begin coverage at 11 a.m. Its predraft show will include a feature with actor Will Ferrell and draft prospect Ryan Kalil of USC. The network also will have a studio set in Los Angeles.
Rich Eisen will host the show in New York, joined by analysts Mike Mayock, Steve Mariucci, Charles Davis, and Marshall Faulk, plus Deion Sanders and Adam Schefter.
ESPN's Rothman said producing the draft show is "overwhelming."
"This is so complex to execute," he said. "It is completely unscripted. You make a decision for what you think is right for the viewer. But I'm confident in our ability, I'm confident in what we've done in the past, and with all due respect, last year was the first year we had competition from the NFL Network and we had record ratings and record viewership.
"Every year we go back and go over the 18 hours to see what we could do better, where we hit and where we missed."
Loomis acknowledges he looks at ESPN with respect.
"They've been doing it for a long time, so you certainly watch what they do and ask, 'Hey are they doing something we should be doing?' " he said. "The reality of it is, we're both going to be looking at the podium when the commissioner tells us what the pick is and we're both going to be following that pick from the green room up to the stage. So there's going to be overlap for sure."
Susan Bickelhaupt can be reached at bickelhaupt@globe.com. 
