The NFL draft will kick off in prime time on a Thursday for the first time in 2010, the league announced today.

The first round will start on Thursday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. Hawaii time) with the second and third rounds on Friday, April 23 at 6:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. HST) followed by rounds 4-7 on Saturday, April 24 at 10 a.m. ET (4 a.m. HST).�
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The draft will continue to be televised by ESPN and NFL Network.� The 2010 NFL Draft � the 75th draft in NFL history � will again be held at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
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�We continue to look for ways to make the draft more accessible to more fans,� said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
�Moving the first round to prime time on Thursday night will make the first round of the draft available to fans on what is typically the most-watched night of television.�
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The 2009 NFL Draft (Saturday, April 25-Sunday, April 26) drew a record 39 million viewers on NFL Network, ESPN and ESPN2.� Total NFL Draft viewership increased 66 percent from 2001 to 2009 (from 23.5 million to 39 million).
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The first round of last year�s draft on ESPN and NFL Network drew a combined average of 6.3 million viewers, topping all basketball, hockey and baseball games that weekend.
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The NFL Draft was a Saturday-Sunday event from 1995-2009. It took place on Sunday-Monday from 1988-94 and prior to 1988 was held on one or two weekdays.
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