"There are certain traditions you can rely on year after year. Presents and Santa on Christmas, latches on Hanukkah. Among these traditions, one stands every year for sports. football is played on Thanksgiving, and basketball is played on Christmas. But is this changing?" --Rafi Ponet, 8th Grade
This year was the 12th straight year the NBA didn't have games on Thanksgiving. The last NBA games played on Thanksgiving were the Washington Wizards against the Atlanta Hawks and the Sacramento Kings against the Los Angeles Clippers in 2010. Meanwhile, in a couple of weeks the NBA will play games on Christmas for the 76th year in a row. But, in the over 100 years that the NFL has existed , they’ve only played 27 games on Christmas. Thanksgiving, however, has always been a main part of their schedule.
And so it has gone. The NFL has basically owned Thanksgiving, and the NBA has owned Christmas. But this is changing. 2023 will be the third year in a row that the NFL will play games on Christmas. There are three games scheduled this year, with the most anticipated being a primetime game between the Baltimore Ravens, and San Francisco 49ers at 8:15 PM Eastern Time. Both teams are sitting at 10-3 after week 14, making them both tied for the best team in the league. The other games on Christmas are the Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs, at 1:00 PM Eastern, and the New York Giants at the Philadelphia Eagles at 4:40 PM Eastern.
The NBA has five games scheduled throughout the day, starting with Bucks at Knicks at noon Eastern Time, and ending with Mavericks at Suns at 10:30 PM Eastern. But despite having more games than the NFL, should the NBA be worried?
Christmas day is one of the biggest days for basketball fans. Outside of the playoffs, it normally gets more viewers than any other day. But a lot of this is because fans of the NFL, MLB, or NHL don’t have any other sport to watch. But now, if you're a sports fan, would you rather watch a matchup between two teams like the 49ers and Ravens, trying to win their conference towards the end of the season? Or watch one of the 82 games that the Philadelphia 76ers, and Miami Heat will play?
The thing about the NBA, that they probably know all too well, is that in the year 2023, they can’t come close to competing with the NFL in terms of viewership. Ten to -15 years down the line, this could be different—but right now, it’s not close. The past Super Bowl, between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, generated over 115 million views. This makes it the most watched Super Bowl in history. Meanwhile, the most watched NBA game in its history was watched by just under 36 million people. This game took place in 1998. That was 25 years ago. The only game in the last 10 years that is even close to it, in viewers was Game 7 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, which racked up around 31 million views in 2016. The NFL also generates almost double the amount of money as the NBA.
The NBA already has changed things in their schedule to get more fans. Lots of people will watch the finals and playoffs but not care about the regular season. This year, the NBA debuted the in-season tournament, a tournament that starts in early November, and ends in mid December. A couple of years before, they added the play-in tournament, which is a tournament seeds 7-10 compete in to make the playoffs. Both of these additions have upped the entertainment value of the league but still many fans find themselves only watching in June.
As said earlier, last year's superbowl was the most watched Super Bowl ever. Also it was the most watched sporting event in United States history, and the second most watched broadcast, ever in the US, only behind The Moon Landing. So it seems as though the NFL has realized that there is no real reason why there shouldn’t be games on Christmas. In the past it seems as if there has been some unspoken agreement between the two but this recently not so much.
Although this might have a negative impact on the NBA’s Christmas day viewership, it is a huge win for sports fans. Those who are fans of both leagues can have a day full of basketball, and football. Fans can go back and forth between games, which is always fun. Every game is nationally televised, so everyone can watch.
All in all, this means more sports games between some of the best teams in the world, and who would say no to that?
And so it has gone. The NFL has basically owned Thanksgiving, and the NBA has owned Christmas. But this is changing. 2023 will be the third year in a row that the NFL will play games on Christmas. There are three games scheduled this year, with the most anticipated being a primetime game between the Baltimore Ravens, and San Francisco 49ers at 8:15 PM Eastern Time. Both teams are sitting at 10-3 after week 14, making them both tied for the best team in the league. The other games on Christmas are the Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs, at 1:00 PM Eastern, and the New York Giants at the Philadelphia Eagles at 4:40 PM Eastern.
The NBA has five games scheduled throughout the day, starting with Bucks at Knicks at noon Eastern Time, and ending with Mavericks at Suns at 10:30 PM Eastern. But despite having more games than the NFL, should the NBA be worried?
Christmas day is one of the biggest days for basketball fans. Outside of the playoffs, it normally gets more viewers than any other day. But a lot of this is because fans of the NFL, MLB, or NHL don’t have any other sport to watch. But now, if you're a sports fan, would you rather watch a matchup between two teams like the 49ers and Ravens, trying to win their conference towards the end of the season? Or watch one of the 82 games that the Philadelphia 76ers, and Miami Heat will play?
The thing about the NBA, that they probably know all too well, is that in the year 2023, they can’t come close to competing with the NFL in terms of viewership. Ten to -15 years down the line, this could be different—but right now, it’s not close. The past Super Bowl, between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, generated over 115 million views. This makes it the most watched Super Bowl in history. Meanwhile, the most watched NBA game in its history was watched by just under 36 million people. This game took place in 1998. That was 25 years ago. The only game in the last 10 years that is even close to it, in viewers was Game 7 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, which racked up around 31 million views in 2016. The NFL also generates almost double the amount of money as the NBA.
The NBA already has changed things in their schedule to get more fans. Lots of people will watch the finals and playoffs but not care about the regular season. This year, the NBA debuted the in-season tournament, a tournament that starts in early November, and ends in mid December. A couple of years before, they added the play-in tournament, which is a tournament seeds 7-10 compete in to make the playoffs. Both of these additions have upped the entertainment value of the league but still many fans find themselves only watching in June.
As said earlier, last year's superbowl was the most watched Super Bowl ever. Also it was the most watched sporting event in United States history, and the second most watched broadcast, ever in the US, only behind The Moon Landing. So it seems as though the NFL has realized that there is no real reason why there shouldn’t be games on Christmas. In the past it seems as if there has been some unspoken agreement between the two but this recently not so much.
Although this might have a negative impact on the NBA’s Christmas day viewership, it is a huge win for sports fans. Those who are fans of both leagues can have a day full of basketball, and football. Fans can go back and forth between games, which is always fun. Every game is nationally televised, so everyone can watch.
All in all, this means more sports games between some of the best teams in the world, and who would say no to that?
