NBA’s Christmas Day slate averaged 5.25 million viewers according to final Nielsen ratings

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA’s five-game Christmas Day slate averaged about 5.25 million viewers per game across ABC, ESPN and its platforms, in final ratings released by the league and Nielsen on Monday.

All of the Yuletide games — San Antonio at New York in Victor Wembanyama’s holiday debut, Minnesota at Dallas, Philadelphia at Boston, Denver at Phoenix and Lakers at Warriors — saw year-over-year viewership increases.

The NBA’s lineup saw an 84% rise from 2023. One reason for the increase is that all five games were on ABC for the first time compared to two last year.

The Lakers’ 115-113 victory over the Warriors — a game pitting Olympic teammates LeBron James and Stephen Curry — averaged 7.91 million viewers and peaked with about 8.45 million viewers toward the end of the contest, the league said.

Those numbers represent the most-watched NBA regular-season game in five years.

The 12 p.m. EST game between the Spurs and Knicks averaged 4,997,000 viewers, making it the most-watched noon Christmas game since 2011. Part of the increase is also attributed to ESPN’s “Dunk the Halls” animated alternate broadcast.

The game between the Suns and Nuggets averaged 3.9 million, making it the most-watched Christmas late-night contest.

Wednesday’s numbers pushed ESPN platforms’ NBA viewership for the season up 5% from last season. Through 34 games, the games are averaging 1.96 million viewers.

For the NBA, those are all good signs amid cries that viewership is hurting.

“Ratings were down a bit at beginning of the season. But cable television viewership is down double digits so far this year versus last year,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this month. “You know, we’re almost at the inflection point where people are watching more programming on streaming than they are on traditional television. And it’s a reason why for our new television deals, which we enter into next year, every game is going to be available on a streaming service.”

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