NBA’s big Christmas Day ratings have a caveat
Feb 18, 2023; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; The NBA logo on the court at Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The NBA saw a big spike in ratings for its Christmas Day games this season compared to a year ago, but the increase may have come with a caveat.
ESPN announced on Wednesday that ratings for the NBA’s Christmas Day games were up 84% from 2023. The Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State Warriors game was also the league’s most-watched regular season game in five years.
NBA action on ESPN platforms delivered the most-watched Christmas in FIVE YEARS
84% from last year
#LakeShow vs. #DubNation (7.7M), most-watched NBA reg. season game since 2019
Season-to-date viewership up 4%More: https://t.co/kfIOkAvrRl pic.twitter.com/yG5sgPWsmH
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) December 26, 2024
As Outkick’s Bobby Burack noted, ESPN/ABC made one major change to this year’s coverage that may account for most of the 84% spike in ratings. All five Christmas Day games this year aired on both ESPN and ABC. Last year, three of the five games were exclusively on ESPN. ABC is a broadcast network, whereas ESPN is only available to cable subscribers and through certain streaming services. More people have access to ABC, which could have resulted in an increase in viewership.
The NFL also scheduled three Christmas Day games last year but only two this season. There was no NFL night game to compete with Lakers-Warriors, which undoubtedly gave the NBA a boost.
There are always a number of different ways to look at ratings. Despite the warning shot LeBron James fired at the NFL, football is typically king when it comes to viewership.
The NBA should be pleased with their spike this year, but the main takeaway seems to be that they made some wise broadcast changes while also getting a little assist from the NFL.