The NBA is going to have to find a new holiday to dominate.
The NFL conducted a hostile takeover of Christmas Day in 2024, a day that used to be the most prominent NBA showcase of the year, by playing a double-header on Netflix. The returns were so positive that the NFL decided to triple down on that success and add a third Christmas Day game.
The league will easily add the game, given that Christmas Day falls on Thursday, and the NFL already has a Thursday night game on Amazon. So, Netflix will once again stream two games just as they did last Christmas, with Amazon delivering the third game.
To put the NFL’s domination of last year’s Christmas Day in perspective, the Chiefs and Steelers drew 24.1 million viewers while the Texans and Ravens drew 24.3 million.
The NBA, which had a slate of five games on Christmas Day, only earned 25.8 million viewers, barely over half what the NFL drew in two games.
Having Beyoncé perform during halftime certainly did not hurt the NFL’s ratings. However, Beyoncé or no Beyoncé, the NFL’s Netflix debut was a smashing success, and as long as the streaming numbers are strong, the league won’t be going anywhere.