TV News: Which Christmas Games and teams were most watched, The Bucks or The Chiefs or The Lakers or The Eagles?
For many Wisconsinites, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were some pretty awesome sports days. With 50-degree temps, many Wisconsinites were even able to get outside to play some hoops or renew some rivalries with some family football games.
A close Packer win on Christmas Eve in North Carolina made for lots of interesting sports watching. Then on Christmas Morning the Bucks played and lost to a magical performance by Jalen Brunson and the Knicks.
But who watched what, and when?
According to FOS (Front Office Sports) the TV numbers are in. They took time to compare which sport had more eyeballs: the NBA or NFL. According to their numbers, it wasn’t even close. The NFL continues to attract 10x what the NBA does. The NFL is king when it comes to sports content. People continue to prefer to watch NFL football.
Christmas Day ratings:
🏀 Knicks-Bucks: 2.5M
🏀 Warriors-Nuggets, 4.1M
🏀 Lakers-Celtics, 5M
🏀 Heat-Sixers, 1.2M
🏀 Mavs-Suns, 1.3M🏈 Raiders-Chiefs, 29.2M
🏈 Giants-Eagles, 29M
🏈 Ravens-49ers, 27.2M(h/t @sportsrapport) pic.twitter.com/VYNeiZwGTP
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) December 28, 2023
The Bucks game drew over 2 million views nationwide, a pretty well-watched Christmas NBA game considering it was on at 11am CST. The Chiefs-Raiders game drew over 26 million tv viewers. That is 13X what the Bucks game did in terms of viewership.
The Bucks may be more popular in Wisconsin in terms of fan numbers, but in terms of Nationwide viewership it is not even close: people would rather watch the KC Chiefs on tv.
The most watched NBA Christmas Day game on tv was the Lakers vs Celtics. The game drew 5 million viewers.
Why TV and the NFL are so dominant?
Well, the simple answer is everyone makes a point to watch NFL football games. Everywhere.
Live sports viewership continues to be a major draw for fans across the globe. And when it comes to sports viewership the NFL is so much more popular than the MLB, NHL, or NBA. Probably even combined.
People in and around TV have almost accepted the fact that the NFL is King. With the league continuing to expand its viewership across multiple streaming platforms, the NFL churns and burns through viewers unlike any sport in America.
The NFL says 2023 was its most-watched slate of Thanksgiving games ever. Packers-Lions, Commanders-Cowboys and 49ers-Seahawks combined to average 34.1 million viewers, the most the league has ever recorded for its Thanksgiving games. In the history of the sport.
Raiders-Chiefs was the NFL's most-watched Christmas Day game since 1989.
It averaged 29.2 million viewers across CBS and Nickelodeon — and peaked at 37.2 million. pic.twitter.com/vxSG5EehoS
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) December 27, 2023
In terms of sports viewership, the NFL is, by far, the number one watched sport in America. NFL games continue to attract millions upon million of viewers despite past controversies. The Super Bowl is expected to draw over 99 million eyeballs to America TVs.
Of course, as the NFL continues to add streaming platforms like Amazon Prime, Peacock and even the Nickelodeon app, will viewers follow? Are fans going to be likely to follow and subscribe to these streaming services to be able to watch all of the NFL games? The NFL is betting on a big “yes”!
Related: Nets vs Bucks Preview
What’s Next?
The (23-8) Milwaukee Bucks take on the (18-13) Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night in Downtown Cleveland. The Bucks are in the midst of a nice stretch of wins, having won 8 of their last 10 games.
The (7-8) Green Bay Packers take on the (7-8) Minnesota Vikings on the road on Sunday Night football. The Packers need a win to have a shot at the playoffs. This young team would love that opportunity.
For the Bucks their season continues on. In case you missed it, below is the Christmas Day game preview for the Knicks game. Check out the “things to tell your buddy as you are watching the game” section at the end for fun facts.
Related: X-Mas Day Game Preview
Happy Holidays!
Follow me on Twitter at @authorrudylb and check out my other writings at www.rudylb.com. Follow us at @WiSportsHeroics for all things Wisconsin sports. Also, check out our merch store for some amazing WSH merchandise!
