NFL dominates NBA in Christmas Day viewership
The NFL prevailed over the NBA in this year's battle of Christmas Day viewership.
Viewership numbers shared by Ari Meirov of My Sports Update show that the NFL had an average viewership of 21.88 million on Dec. 25, while the NBA averaged 4.318 million.
The NFL's most-watched matchup was the Green Bay Packers' clash with the Miami Dolphins, which drew 25.92 million viewers. The most-watched NBA game was the Milwaukee Bucks-Boston Celtics contest, which had just over 6 million viewers.
NFL and NBA viewership numbers from the Christmas games:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 28, 2022
NFL:
- Packers-Dolphins: 25.92M
- Broncos-Rams: 22.57M
- Bucs-Cardinals: 17.15M
NBA:
- 76ers-Knicks: 4.04M
- Lakers-Mavericks: 4.33M
- Bucks-Celtics: 6.03M
- Grizzlies-Warriors: 4.70M
- Suns-Nuggets: 2.49M
The NFL has scheduled games on Christmas Day since 1971, but this season was the first in league history to feature three matchups on the holiday.
NFL vice president of broadcasting Mike North stated in April that the league will schedule at least two Christmas games when the holiday falls on a Monday, which it will in 2023.
The NBA has staged five games on Christmas Day in each of the last 14 seasons.