On Saturday, the NBA released its annual Christmas Day lineup. It is a strong lineup that matches with what the NFL has in store.
According to Skip Bayless, the NFL will have the NBA beat. On his X page, Bayless made the case that despite the strong lineup, the NBA will fall short due to the medium in which they are broadcast.
“What a strong Christmas Day NBA lineup on linear TV: Cavs-Knicks, Spurs-Thunder, Rockets-Lakers, Mavs-Warriors, TWolves-Nuggets. But it won't be able to compete with the NFL, even though all 3 will be streamed: Cowboys-Commanders, Lions-Vikings, Broncos-Chiefs.”
Since 2022, the NBA and the NFL have competed for viewership on Christmas. For years, it was the NBA that held the market on Christmas, whereas the NFL held the edge on Thanksgiving.
The NFL has been able to aggregate more viewers on Christmas due in part to streaming the games on Netflix.
Last year, the NFL scored big with Chiefs/Ravens and Ravens/Titans matchups on Netflix. Both averaged over 24 million viewers each, per the Neilson ratings system. In total, they accumulated 65 million viewers.
For comparison's sake, the NBA garnered 5.25 million viewers, an 84% increase from 2023. The game between the Lakers and Warriors drew 7.76 million viewers on ESPN/ABC.
Afterward, LeBron James conceded the dominance of the NFL to Jason and Travis Kelce on their On the Heights podcast.
“I saw the f*****g numbers after the fact… From a viewership standpoint, y'all kicked our a*s,” James said. “The games weren't as great as they should have been.”
Skip Bayless has a point about Christmas Day
Say what you will about Bayless, but he's been proven right about Christmas Day ratings. He has consistently stated that the NFL has taken over in the NBA on the day of giving.
The current sporting landscape favors the NFL in terms of viewership and access. Altogether, given the prevalence of streaming services, the NFL has done a good job at taking advantage of that medium.
Meanwhile, the NBA remains stuck in time utilizing broadcast television.
