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The NFL is king on Christmas. On Wednesday, the NFL on Netflix went head-to-head with the NBA, and while basketball held its own, there’s no doubt that football reigns supreme in the United States.
On Thursday, the NBA released its ratings, boasting its best rating in five years. Throughout the night, the average viewership was 5 million.
“The NBA delivered its most-watched Christmas Day in five years, averaging 5.25 million viewers per game in the U.S. across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Disney+ and ESPN+, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals. Viewership was up 84% vs. last year.”
“The Los Angeles Lakers’ 115-113 victory over the Golden State Warriors – which featured a thrilling duel between LeBron James and Stephen Curry – led the way averaging 7.76 million viewers and peaking with 8.32 million viewers at 10:30 p.m. ET. It was the most-watched NBA regular season and Christmas Day game in five years and up 499% vs. the comparable window last year.”
The NBA delivered its most-watched Christmas Day in five years, with viewership up 84% vs. last year across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Disney+ and ESPN+. The NBA on Christmas Day averaged 5.25 million viewers per game in the U.S.
The matchup between the @Lakers and @Warriors – the… pic.twitter.com/VjfjL8XQSU
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 26, 2024
While LeBron declared Christmas the NBA’s day, the ratings say otherwise. On Thursday, Netflix released their ratings for their two NFL games, and they averaged 24 million viewers, which is a lot more than NBA’s 5 million viewers.
🚨Netflix NFL Christmas Gameday Viewership🚨
*Unduplicated audience of nearly 65 million US viewers
*Ravens-Texans (24.3 million) & Chiefs-Steelers (24.1 million) are most-streamed NFL games in US history
*Viewership for Ravens-Texans peaked w/ Beyonce Bowl (over 27 million… pic.twitter.com/8E8bb0c3qo
— NFL Media (@NFLMedia) December 26, 2024