Christmas Day Delivers Big for NFL and NBA

December 25th was a thrilling day for sports fans as both the NFL and NBA showcased their talent and attracted massive audiences. The NFL emerged as the ratings champion, averaging a remarkable 22.9 million viewers across three games, highlighted by a new streaming record of 27.5 million for the Detroit Lions versus Minnesota Vikings matchup on Netflix.

Meanwhile, the NBA also made a significant impact on Christmas, with its quintuple-header attracting over 47 million viewers in total. A peak of 6.7 million viewers tuned in to watch the San Antonio Spurs secure a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite the NFL's overall viewership win, the NBA excelled in the social media space, logging 1.6 billion views across platforms, the highest of any brand on Christmas Day.

NFL's Christmas Success Continues

This year marked the second consecutive Christmas doubleheader featured by the NFL on Netflix. The 2024 game lineup included exciting matchups between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers, and Baltimore Ravens versus Houston Texans, averaging 26.5 million viewers. The scheduling benefited from the holiday falling on a Thursday, allowing for an additional Prime Video game in the evening.

Even with star quarterback Patrick Mahomes sidelined due to a torn ACL, the NFL’s Thursday Night Football game between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs set a streaming record with an average of 21.1 million viewers, demonstrating the league's broad appeal. The first three NBA games of the day also fared well, averaging over 6 million viewers, showcasing the continued excitement surrounding Christmas matchups.

NBA's Competitive Matchups

The Los Angeles Lakers' triumph over the Golden State Warriors was the only Christmas NBA game in 2024 to exceed 6 million viewers. Contrastingly, the Lakers' game against the Houston Rockets faltered with only 5.4 million viewers, marking it as the fourth most-watched matchup of the day. This game was particularly notable for featuring LeBron James facing off against Kevin Durant for the first time this season, but an early 23-point lead by Houston diminished much of the anticipated audience excitement.

In tandem, the Broncos managed a nail-biting 20-13 victory, courtesy of RJ Harvey's late-game touchdown. This game not only showcased the NFL's competitiveness but also highlighted that concerns about overlapping Christmas Day schedules affecting the NBA's viewership were unfounded. The NFL's contract with Netflix assures another season of this scheduling strategy through at least 2026, promising more action-packed Christmas Days for fans.