Christmas Day used to belong to the NBA, but no more after the NFL enjoyed a hugely successful debut on Netflix.
Live football was broadcast on the streaming platform for the first time on Christmas Day, with the Kansas City Chiefs’ road win over the Pittsburgh Steelers followed by the Baltimore Ravens’ rout of the Houston Texans.
Both games attracted huge audiences, dwarfing the viewing figures of the NBA’s five Christmas Day games. Netflix’s coverage of the Chiefs-Steelers game had a viewership of 24.1 million, and that grew to 24.3 million for the Ravens-Texans matchup which was doubtless boosted by the blockbuster halftime performance by music icon Beyonce.
With a cumulative audience of 48.4 million, the NFL crushed its competition. The NBA’s five games generated an average viewership of 26 million in total, with James and the Los Angeles Lakers’ 115-113 win over Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors peaking at an audience of 8.32 million.
The numbers have left four-time NBA champion James looking foolish. After the Lakers’ victory against the Warriors, he told ESPN: “I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day.”
There can be no hiding for NBA commissioner Adam Silver when it comes to this subject; the NBA is losing in its power struggle with the NBA. The fact the NBA orchestrated it so that many of its top stars were in action during the five-game Christmas slate combined with the fact the NFL games were behind Netflix’s paywall only to lose out so convincingly in the battle for eyeballs underlines the reality that the NFL is surging clear in the popularity stakes.
But it is not all bad news for the NBA. The Christmas Day viewing figures represent a huge increase on last year, with the league issuing a celebratory press release on Thursday to report an 84 per cent year-on-year growth in viewing figures.
The Laker’s victory over the Warriors was both the most-watched NBA Christmas Day and regular-season game in five years, representing a near-500 per cent increase in viewership over the same time slot in 2023.
“NBA viewership across ESPN platforms this season is up four per cent versus last year,” the NBA’s bullish press release read. “NBA games this season have driven ESPN and TNT to be the most-viewed cable networks among people under 50 on 21 of 24 nights.
“Leading into Christmas Day, NBA viewership across ABC, ESPN and TNT increased every week of December, with an average week-over-week increase of seven per cent. Viewership for Emirates NBA Cup games on ESPN and TNT were up six per cent vs. non-NBA Cup games during the same timeframe.
“Season to date, the NBA has generated a record 11 billion views across its social and digital channels. The NBA has the largest social media following among all professional sports leagues and has one of the largest social media communities of any brand.”
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