The NFL dominated the ratings on Christmas Day, while the NBA took a big hit from the competition.
The three NFL Christmas Day games averaged an 11.1 rating and 28.68 million viewers, up 23% in ratings and 30% in viewership from last year (9.0, 22.05 million). Raiders-Chiefs led the way with a 11.7 and 29.48 million overall rating across CBS and Nickelodeon, followed by Giants-Eagles on FOX with a 10.1 and 29.02 million total — the NFL’s two biggest Christmas audiences since 1989. Ravens-49ers closed out the day with an 11.4 and 27.61 million on ABC, the fourth-largest Christmas audience during that period.
Overall, this year’s three games rank among the top five most-watched NFL Christmas games of all time. (Keep in mind that out-of-home viewing was not included in the Nielsen National Finals until 2020, which means a number of previous games may have had larger average crowds, all things being equal.)
Facing much stronger NFL competition than a year ago, the NBA has seen its viewership take a hit. The league’s five-game Christmas schedule averaged a 1.3 and 2.85 million ratings — down 29% in ratings and 33% in viewership from last year, when all five games were simulcast on ABC and ESPN (1.8, 4.30). . ABC broadcast only two of five games that year. This year easily marks the NBA’s least-watched Christmas ever.
Celtics-Lakers led the Christmas lineup with a 2.1 rating and 5.01 million viewers across ABC and ESPN, followed by Warriors-Nuggets on the same networks with a 1.8 and 4.13 million. The three cable-exclusive games were much lower, with Bucks-Knicks at 1.2 and 2.49 million on ESPN and ESPN2, Mavericks-Suns at 0.7 and 1.47 million on ESPN alone, and Sixers-Heat trailing behind at 0.6 and 1.30. $1 million on ESPN and ESPN2 – the NBA’s least-watched Christmas game since at least the 1980s.
There were no other live sports to speak of on Christmas Day.
Christmas sports reviews
