Christmas Day offered up a variety of gifts for sports fans to unwrap.
The NBA has long dominated Christmas, just as Thanksgiving has become synonymous with football, but viewers got the best of both worlds on Wednesday with a NFL doubleheader and five NBA games. With so many viewing options to choose from — the more the merrier, right? — it was clear that someone was going to get the cold shoulder.
“I love the NFL. But Christmas is our day,” Los Angeles superstar LeBron James declared after the Lakers’ thrilling 115-113 win over the Golden State Warriors.
Here’s what Christmas Day viewership numbers show:
Netflix’s NFL doubleheader ‘most-streamed NFL game’ ever
Netflix’s Christmas Day NFL doubleheader, featuring the Kansas Chiefs’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens’ blowout of the Houston Texans, brought in an estimated 65 million viewers across the country, the streaming platform announced in a press release, citing Nielsen.
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The Chiefs-Steelers broadcast attracted an average audience of over 24 million viewers, while the Ravens-Texans broadcast peaked at more than 27 million viewers. (That might be in part due to Beyonce’s halftime performance.) The doubleheader showcased the two “most-streamed NFL games in US history,” Netflix added.
“We’re thrilled with our first Christmas Gameday on Netflix with NFL games being streamed to a global audience,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution. “Fans in all 50 states and over 200 countries around the world watched some of the league’s brightest stars along with a dazzling performance by Beyoncé in a historic day for the NFL.”
It’s worth noting that both NFL games aired in direct competition with NBA games, with Chiefs-Steelers (1 p.m. ET) and Ravens-Texans (4:30 p.m. ET) airing alongside New York Knicks-San Antonio Spurs (12 p.m. ET), Minnesota Timberwolves-Dallas Mavericks (2:30 p.m. ET) and Boston Celtics-Philadelphia 76ers (5 p.m. ET).
NBA has ‘most-watched Christmas’ since 2019
Despite direct competition from the NFL and a number of basketball stars being injured or absent, the NBA averaged 5.2 million viewers for its most-watched Christmas in five years, the league announced on Thursday.
The Lakers’ Christmas Day victory over the Golden State Warriors was the NBA’s crown jewel of the day, attracting an average of 7.7 million viewers who tuned in to watch James and Steph Curry battle it out. Viewership peaked at 8.3 million viewers as Curry singlehandedly led a comeback charge that ultimately fell short. The Lakers-Warriors broadcast marks the league’s most-watched NBA regular season game since 2019.
The NBA slate opened with the New York Knicks’ 117-114 win over the San Antonio Spurs, drawing in 4.9M viewers to become the most watched opening Christmas Day game in 13 years. The Phoenix Sun’s 110-100 win over the Denver Nuggets wrapped up the night with an average of 3.8 million viewers, the largest ever for the late Christmas window.
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