Traditionally, the NBA played five high-profile games at Christmas. When the ratings come out the next day, the NFL will almost certainly have attracted more viewers.
You can bet that NBA stakeholders are very aware of that fact, to the point that one of them outright challenged the rival league in his postgame interview. Speaking to the ABC broadcast crew after a thrilling Los Angeles Lakers win, football fan LeBron James said, “I love the NFL. I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day.”
James’ sentiment is likely shared across the league, albeit perhaps without the confidence.
One of the fun parts of the American sports calendar is that each league claims a different holiday. The NFL has had Thanksgiving for decades. The NBA has Christmas. College football and, more recently, the NHL have New Year’s Day. MLB has the Fourth of July.
However, since 2020, the NFL has been pushing for games on Christmas, with significant NBA viewership coming in each year. To get four teams ready to play on Wednesdays this year, the league shifted their games from the week before to Saturday, taking advantage of an opening in the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 that allows them to play on Saturdays after the first week of the competition. December.
The players weren’t thrilled about playing three games in eleven days, but as usual, the NFL got what it wanted, with two games played on Christmas Day, streamed on Netflix. Both games ended up being a hit, but early indications are that the viewing figures will be impressive.
The NBA isn’t interested in sharing Christmas with the NFL, but that’s clearly not up to the NBA. The NFL is almost a different industry at this point, immune to the ratings erosion that the NBA, MLB and others are trying to adapt to. If it wants Christmas, it will play at Christmas and people will watch.
The NBA can really only respond by putting a good product on the market. The Christmas teams largely obliged this year, with the Lakers overcoming a tying 3-pointer from Stephen Curry with eight seconds left and clinching the victory on an Austin Reaves layup. James finished with 31 points and 10 assists.
Before that, the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers all won back-and-forth games by single digits, unlike the blowouts in the NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens both won by at least three scores.
