Ratings For Christmas Day NFL & NBA Games Discussion

[god shamgod]

yes, a few times:

Houston Oilers at San Francisco 49ers - December 25th, 1993 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Houston Oilers 10 at San Francisco 49ers 7 on December 25th, 1993 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

Denver Broncos at Detroit Lions - December 25th, 1999 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Denver Broncos 17 at Detroit Lions 7 on December 25th, 1999 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

Dallas Cowboys at Tennessee Titans - December 25th, 2000 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Dallas Cowboys 0 at Tennessee Titans 31 on December 25th, 2000 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

So 3 Christmas games in 7 years compared to 3 in one day

 

[concise]

So 3 Christmas games in 7 years compared to 3 in one day

The info is on wikipedia and it's been way more than 3 games.

 

[mastermind]

So 3 Christmas games in 7 years compared to 3 in one day

I found three through a short search.

It’s definitely happened more times

 

[pete clemenza]

Nfl is just the better product
And I’m long time nba fan
But who wants to see teams take 45 three point shots
Same play ..pick /roll /corner 3
Parade to the free throwline
Technical for minor argument


Nba is

I'm an NFL and NBA fan but:

shytty game managing QB's
Every team runs the same offense
Penalties galore
Sh*t games (TNF)
Shotgun or play action pass on the 1 yard line
Prevent defenses that choke the game away
White coaches failing upward


-The NFL is a shell of its former self

 

[CrimsonTider]

I'm an NFL and NBA fan but:

shytty game managing QB's
Every team runs the same offense
Penalties galore
Sh*t games (TNF)
Shotgun or play action pass on the 1 yard line
Prevent defenses that choke the game away
White coaches failing upward


-The NFL is a shell of its former self

All of this is better than letting foul baiting and flopping to flourish and be rewarded

 

[Soldier]

Titans/Vikings would trounce the NBA in ratings. It aint about rivalries or stars or even style of play...people will watch an NFL snorefest. NFL as a brand got a hold on mainstream America. There is nothing the NBA could do to compete with that.

Nfl is also the perfect sport to follow for casuals and non sports fans. NFL is also the perfect sport for gambling and water cooler small talk( corporate America has fantasy football pools too)

NFL got every demographic on lock. The NBA doesn’t.

NFL applies law 16 of the famous book 48 laws of power: use scarcity to create value for your product.

[Law 16 of the 48 Laws of Power, “Use absence to increase respect and honor,” is a crucial principle for those seeking to enhance their power and influence. By strategically withdrawing or creating a sense of scarcity around yourself, you can increase your perceived value and command greater respect and honor]

NFL sunday is an American tradition. The Super Bowl is both an institution and a unofficial holiday. It’s also by far, the biggest sporting event of the year in America. It transcends traditional sports fan demographics and reaches the heart of mainstream pop culture. Halftime shows, commercials, glamour, hype, pomp, etc. By comparison the NBA Finals is just a normal league’s championship series. It’s The Same feeling when it comes when it comes to the World Series/Stanley Cup finals.

You don’t have to make serious commitment, time and effort to watch and follow the NFL product. Very short schedule, 17 games over 5 months, only a game per week. All nfl games are broadcasted on public/national/on the air tv.

By contrast, most NBA games are on cable, nba schedule is 4x longer with 82 games over 8 months. NBA teams play 3-4 games per week.

Sunday is the most uneventful day of the week because everyone is at home relaxing and enjoying the weekend. And the nfl monopolizes sundays.

 

[Buckeye Fever]

NBA cant be hurtin' that bad.

They are still able to give guaranteed contracts. Hefty ones, at that.

 

[Loose]

I think you need continuity in both roster and playoff opponents. You can argue for Celtics/Heat and Bucks/Heat

Nuggets don’t have a rival yet. I think the Lakers could’ve been if they played them in 21 or 22

Haven't had that type of continuity in at least a decade at this point, hard to build/brand rivalries with it.

 

[viktordoomsecretwars]

Gone are the days the NBA used to average 10 million viewers easily for its premier Christmas game.

NBA on Christmas Day Numbers Game

A look at how the NBA's Christmas Day games have fared in the ratings over the years. Click here to jump straight to the game-by-game ratings. Originally - Page 2 of 2

www.sportsmediawatch.com

Celtics vs Lakers and Warriors vs Nuggets could barely crack 5 million viewers.

The NBA in 2023 has literally lost 70% of its viewers since Jordan's last season with the Bulls in 1998.

 

[viktordoomsecretwars]

I think people constantly overlook this. Every NFL game is an event. Its like a sprint. Every NBA game is part of a marathon. Peoples attention spans are short. Baseball used to be the national pasttime now it barely gets any coverage.

Cant discount the racial angle. Cant discount history. But like you said even with all that the NBA is doing just fine.

NFL could have players changing teams (already do), They could have homogenized play (already do that too), Less urgency with more games an expanded playoff field (wait a minute), focus on individuals...like QB this or QB that (am I the only one seeing this?) and people would still tune in in record numbers. Is what it is .

Last seasons playoffs just had record viewership. Those into hoops are watching hoops.

Once again, the NBA not having NFL viewership does not mean the NBA is doing poorly.

The stakes aren't high enough across a 82 game season. Then having to wait at least 4 playoff games for a "winner" to be crowned. For the viewership to be tens of millions.

The NBA is great in its lane. The NFL is on the moon in theirs. And that's OK!

Yeah, the NBA is "doing just fine" and its lost 70% of its viewership since Jordan retired and 50% of its viewership in the last decade.

It can't even pull more than 5 million viewers for its marquee Christmas games anymore.

Celtics vs Lakers and Nuggets vs Warriors should be doing way more than 5 mil and 4.1 mil viewers respectively.

In 2010 for example, we had Heat vs Lakers doing 13.11 mil viewers. In 2011, Bulls vs Lakers did 11.01 mil viewers.

Forget comparing the NBA to the NFL. Compare the NBA to itself.

The NBA has serious problems it has to address before it just fades away completely to irrelevancy. A lot of the NBA's problems are also self-inflicted wounds.

 

[Rapmastermind]

Final Numbers

Christmas Day ratings:

NBA: 14.6 Million

Knicks-Bucks: 2.5M
Warriors-Nuggets, 4.1M
Lakers-Celtics, 5M
Heat-Sixers, 1.2M
Mavs-Suns, 1.3M

NFL: 86 Million

Raiders-Chiefs, 29.5M
Giants-Eagles, 29.3 M
Ravens-49ers, 27.2M

*Dolphins/Cowboys: 30 M (Christmas Eve)



Well, looks like Lakers/Celtics is still the most popular matchup in the NBA as far as causal viewers. And still the Eagles/Giants slaughtered it in the same timeslot across the Country. Warriors/Nuggets came in 2nd. Both games had Lebron and Steph who are the NBA biggest draws at the moment. SMH @ everything else. I mean 76ers/Heat didn't have Embiid or Jimmy. Mavs and Suns and Knicks and Bucks just didn't move the needle as the other two though the Knicks/Bucks game almost did 3 Million. As for the NFL, they had 3 matchups just right for Christmas as far as markets, fan bases, rivalries, playoff standings etc. They also had the Taylor Swift hype and double broadcast with Nickelodeon so they got the Kids and girls too. Also don't forget Dolphins/Cowboys did big number on Christmas Eve and then Bills and Chargers from Saturday. The NFL easily cleared over 140 Million Viewers this Holiday Weekend (Sat/Sun/Mon). These numbers show me we will have an NFL Christmas Game next year on Wednesday for sure.

 

[The_Sheff]

Wow, so not only did every single NFL game draw more than all the NBA games combined but 2 of the three NFL games doubled that combined number.

 

[JordanWearinThe45]

The NBA numbers aren’t out yet. I should rename the thread to ratings update. Only one game has their numbers out so far.

At least update the OP with the numbers

 

[Jerz-2]

Of course they're gonna find a way to have a game on Wednesday. Prob will name it "a special edition of TNF" or something. They greedy like that.

They're already calling Saturday night's DAL/DET game "a special Saturday edition of Monday Night Football"

 

[En Sabah Nur]

Yeah, the NBA is "doing just fine" and its lost 70% of its viewership since Jordan retired and 50% of its viewership in the last decade.

It can't even pull more than 5 million viewers for its marquee Christmas games anymore.

Celtics vs Lakers and Nuggets vs Warriors should be doing way more than 5 mil and 4.1 mil viewers respectively.

In 2010 for example, we had Heat vs Lakers doing 13.11 mil viewers. In 2011, Bulls vs Lakers did 11.01 mil viewers.

Forget comparing the NBA to the NFL. Compare the NBA to itself.

The NBA has serious problems it has to address before it just fades away completely to irrelevancy. A lot of the NBA's problems are also self-inflicted wounds.

Yeah NFL vs NBA need not be a discussion...
Once Bron and Steph are gone the NBA might be reverting back to the pre-Magic/Bird days