The NBA, not the NFL, typically owns Christmas Day. The 5-game slate on the holiday is always highly anticipated, as playing on December 25th has become something of an honor for teams, given that it is one of the most watched days of the league’s regular season. It has become a tradition for households that have sports fans, as it is usually a mainstay on televisions across the country as families celebrate.

NFL Dominates In Christmas Day Viewership

The #NFL will always be king.

The #Eagles vs #Giants game on Christmas had the total viewership of all the NBA Christmas games… pic.twitter.com/QCY2vOOoK1

— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) December 28, 2023

But things were different this year. Christmas fell on a Monday, and the NBA put out their usual 5-game schedule featuring some of the top teams in the league. They had some serious competition, though, as the NFL decided to give their fans 9 hours of football spread out between three games that lasted essentially all day.

They were able to put up some record-breaking numbers. The day before, over 31 million people watched the Dolphins defeat the Cowboys, which was the most-watched non-Thanksgiving broadcast of the year thus far. And while the games on the actual holiday didn’t quite reach those numbers, they put the NBA to shame in terms of viewership.

There were five basketball games that were played throughout the day. The league featured teams like the Celtics, Lakers, Warriors, and Knicks in order to garner full attention, and there were games starting at noon eastern that lasted well past midnight as games on the west coast wrapped up.

Football Proves To Be King Once Again

NFL Ratings: The #Dolphins–#Cowboys game on FOX had 31.5 million viewers.

The AMERICA’S GAME OF THE WEEK currently ranks as the most-watched program in all of television since 1995. https://t.co/JG6gDgbDLc pic.twitter.com/WCQksct7fN

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 27, 2023

Over the five contests, there were a combined 14.4 million viewers across the platforms and broadcasts. In comparison, the game between the Eagles and Giants, which was one of three NFL games shown that day, garnered 29 million viewers. One of the three games broadcasted that day brought in twice as many viewers as the entire slate of NBA games combined.

The NFL has always been king when it comes to television numbers. Some of the most watched programs in the history of broadcasting have been Super Bowls, and the yearly rankings regularly have the NFL. 48 of the 50 most viewed broadcasts this calendar year have been NFL games.