When the NBA released their viewership numbers for Christmas Day 2024, they looked impressive. The stats showed that it was the most watched Christmas Day in five years, with viewership up 84% over last year. But a few hours later, the numbers for the NFL were released, which served as a reminder for which sport is king in the United States.
65 Million People Watched At Least 1 Minute Of NFL On Christmas
Viewership has been a talking point throughout the current NBA season. Reports say that ratings are down across the board thanks to a number of factors, and the intrusion by football on their marquee day certainly didn’t help. For the first time since 2012, the NFL played on a Wednesday this week, and featured two midday games that overlapped with the basketball schedule.
While the NBA’s numbers may have seen an improvement over last year, they were no match for the amount of viewers that tuned into the NFL. In their official press release, the NFL reported that the Chiefs vs. Steelers saw an average of 24.1 million viewers, while the Ravens vs. Texans drew 24.3 million. Those numbers are just shy of being five times what the NBA saw, which was an average of 5.25 million during their five game slate.
🚨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
It was a special day for the NFL all around. Both games were broadcasted via Netflix for the first time ever, and they became the most streamed NFL games in US history. The previous high was last year’s playoff game between the Dolphins and Chiefs on Peacock. It was reported that there were 65 million people who tuned in to at least one minute of the action on Wednesday.
Their Christmas Day numbers may pale in comparison to those of the NFL, but the increase in viewership was still a positive sign for the NBA. Things will change even further next season after new TV deals take effect, which will include more streaming service options, most notably via Amazon Video.
