LeBron James will need to make room for the NFL.
Wednesday double header Netflix set a record as the most streamed NFL game in U.S. history, nearly five times more than the NBA.
The Baltimore Ravens’ 31-2 win over the Houston Texans averaged 24.3 million viewers, and Kansas City’s 29-10 win over Pittsburgh averaged 24.1 viewers, according to early viewer numbers released Thursday by Nielsen. It was a person.
Nielsen also said it had a U.S. audience of 65 million viewers. I tuned At least one minute in one of the two games.
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The NBA’s five games averaged about 5.25 million viewers per game across ABC, ESPN and its platforms, according to the league and Nielsen.
“I love the NFL,” James said in a televised postgame interview Wednesday night. “But Christmas is our day.”
The NBA’s Christmas lineup had its highest viewership in the past five years, while the NFL has made Christmas one of its signature events during the regular season, along with Kickoff Weekend and Thanksgiving.
“The numbers speak for themselves and LeBron can make his own point of view. I’m sure more people will pay attention to it because of this,” said Hans Schroeder, executive vice president of NFL Media. he said. “But, you know, we’re focused on the NFL and we’re excited about how Christmas on Netflix turned out this year and we’re excited to continue to build on that in the years to come.”
Both NFL games exceeded the previous record of 23 million viewers for last season’s AFC Wild Card Game, Miami Dolphins vs. Chiefs on Peacocks.
Ratings for Ravens vs. Texans peaked at the Beyonce Bowl. The 20-minute halftime performance averaged more than 27 million viewers.
Viewership numbers include viewers on Netflix, mobile viewers on NFL+, and viewers who watched CBS stations in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Baltimore and Houston.
Global ratings and final U.S. numbers are expected to be released on Tuesday.
The NFL’s Christmas numbers were down from last season, but not at the rate that typically happens when something moves from broadcast to streaming.
The average number of viewers for last year’s three games was 28.68 million. The early afternoon game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Chiefs led the way, averaging 29.48 million viewers on CBS.
Once worldwide and Netflix first-party data is released, both Christmas games should top 30 million.
NBA lineups have increased by 84% compared to 2023. One reason for the increase is that all five games were broadcast on ABC, compared to two games last year.
The game, in which the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors 115-113, featured Olympic teammates LeBron James and Stephen Curry, and averaged 7.76 million viewers, with approximately The league announced that attendance peaked at 8.32 million.
These numbers represent the most-watched NBA regular season games in the last five years.
