As a whole, the NBA has lost around 45% of its viewership since 2012.

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

bu-bu-but the NBA has a 3-pt volume problem.

 

[Bboystyle]

Viewership up 84% from 3 to 8

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

Lakers-Warriors led the way with a combined 7.76 million on ABC and ESPN, up six-fold from Sixers-Heat on ESPN alone last year (1.30M) and the largest NBA regular season audience since Clippers-Lakers on Christmas 2019 (8.76M).

It was also the most-watched NBA game on a day that included NFL games since the 2020 NBA Finals, and the most-watched outside of that anomalous circumstance since Christmas 2017 (Cavaliers-Warriors: 8.83M).

Spurs-Knicks placed third with 4.91 million in the Noon ET window — including a “Dunk the Halls” Mickey Mouse-themed simulcast on ESPN2 — the largest audience for the Noon Christmas game since Celtics-Knicks on TNT in 2011, which was the first game of the lockout-delayed season.

Owing to the Christmas Day performance, NBA viewership on The ESPN networks in particular are now up four percent.

More Ls for TheColi.