Despite Christmas falling on a Wednesday, the NFL scheduled two massive games and broadcast them on Netflix.
The NBA’s traditional five games on Christmas were spread out from the afternoon until night, and all five games were on ABC.
Viewership numbers are out for the two NFL games and five NBA games.
Below, we look at the viewership numbers for the two NFL games and five NBA games.
NFL Sets Record With Christmas Day Viewership Numbers
The NFL scheduled two massive games on Christmas Day and Netflix won big.
Numbers are in for the two NFL games and it was a massive success.
- Chiefs vs Steelers: 24.1 million viewers
- Ravens vs Texans: 24.3 million viewers
These are monster numbers and the NFL will see this as a massive success on Netflix.
Considering it was Christmas, the number of viewers is likely significantly higher with people visiting people’s homes to celebrate and watch the NFL.
This paves the way for the NFL to continue to broadcast games on Netflix and have games scheduled on Christmas.
NBA Christmas Day Games Draw In 25 Million Viewers Combined
The NBA had its traditional five NBA games on Christmas. All five games were on ABC this year.
Numbers are in for the five NBA games.
- Spurs vs Knicks: 4.9 million viewers
- Timberwolves vs Mavericks: 4.3 million viewers
- 76ers vs Celtics: 5.1 million viewers
- Lakers vs Warriors: 7.7 million viewers
- Nuggets vs Lakers: 3.6 million viewers
The Lakers vs Warriors game won the day for ratings among the five NBA games. This makes sense as it was on in primetime and showcases LeBron James and Steph Curry.
Denver vs Phoenix saw the lowest ratings with the game being on late on the east coast.
This was a dud for the NBA. All five games combined had a total of 25.6 million viewers, barely beating one game for the NFL on Netflix.
Considering the NBA was on Network TV and the NFL was on a streaming service, this further proves how far ahead the NFL is than the NBA.
The NFL Will Take Over Christmas From Now On
With the massive success the NFL had on Netflix, the NFL will continue from now on to schedule games on Christmas, no matter what day of the week it lands on.
Recording over 24 million viewers for each of the two NFL games was a huge success.
Despite LeBron saying “I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day”, numbers prove otherwise.
LeBron James: “I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day.” pic.twitter.com/aYGNODI5ud
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 26, 2024
Expect to watch NFL games on Christmas Day each year from here on out.
