Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce show LeBron is dead wrong as NFL enjoy Christmas supremacy – with help from Beyoncé
LeBron James is basketball royalty. But when it comes to Christmas viewing figures, there’s only one ‘King’ in town, and it’s not the Los Angeles Lakers superstar nor the NBA. LeBron and Curry put on a Christmas classic but the NFL still drew more eyeballsGetty After leading his Lakers to a Christmas Day victory over Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, four-time NBA champion James boldly proclaimed: “I love the NFL. I love the NFL. But Christmas is our day.” The NBA has traditionally dominated the festive period, but in recent years the NFL has muscled in on the Christmas action to become numero uno in the eyes of fans. Netflix set records with the most-streamed NFL games in US history on Wednesday, with an audience of nearly 65 million US viewers for its Christmas doubleheader, according to Nielsen. The Baltimore Ravens’ 31-2 blowout win over the Houston Texans averaged 24.3 million viewers while Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid‘s Kansas City Chiefs‘ 29-10 win over the Steelers averaged 24.1 million eyeballs. Both NFL games surpassed the previous mark of 23 million for last season’s AFC wild-card game between the Miami Dolphins and Chiefs on Peacock. Global ratings and final US numbers are expected to be available next week, with both Christmas games projected to surpass 30 million. The games were the second and third-most popular live titles in Netflix history, surpassed only by the November 14 fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, with 108 million worldwide viewing at least one minute of the fight card. Viewership for the Ravens-Texans peaked with the Beyoncé Bowl. The 32-time Grammy winner’s nearly 15-minute halftime performance, which involved 12-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter as a backup dancer, averaged more than 27 million viewers. The NBA’s five-game slate, meanwhile, averaged about 5.25 million viewers per game across ABC, ESPN and its platforms, according to the league and Nielsen. “Big middle finger to LeBron and NBA,” posted one fan on X. Mahomes and Kelce contributed to 65 million viewers tuning into the NFL on ChristmasReuters The big bucks came out to get Beyonce to work on Christmas Day in Texas to help NFL and Netflix secure record numbersGetty The Texas Hold ‘Em singer was also joined by Post Malone on the field in her 15-minute half-time showGetty “Roger Goodell does it again,” a second added. Hans Schroeder, the executive vice president of NFL Media, spoke about LeBron’s comments in jest while also being optimistic about the first season of the league’s three-year partnership with Netflix. “The numbers speak for themselves and LeBron can have his own view, and I’m sure more people will look at that because of this,” Schroeder said. “But, you know, we’re focused on the NFL and we’re thrilled with the results this year with the Christmas on Netflix and we’re excited to continue to build that over the next couple of years.” Before last year, the league said it was only playing on Christmas because the holiday fell on a Monday, when the NFL is accustomed to scheduling games. Last year’s three games averaged 28.68 million viewers, with the early afternoon contest between the Las Vegas Raiders and Chiefs leading the way, averaging 29.48 million on CBS. It was all smiles in Texas as the Ravens got the win and the NFL won the ratings warGetty Those excellent TV ratings made sure the NFL isn’t going anywhere at Christmas, and there will be at least two NFL games on Christmas in 2025. The NBA may no longer be America’s most-watched sporting event on Christmas, but that isn’t to say it didn’t have a successful 2024. The NBA said all five Christmas games on its schedule — San Antonio at New York, Minnesota at Dallas, Philadelphia at Boston, Denver at Phoenix and Lakers-Warriors — saw year-over-year viewership increases. The Lakers’ 115-113 victory over the Warriors averaged 7.76m viewers and peaked with about 8.32m viewers toward the end of the contest, the league said. Those numbers made it the most-watched NBA regular season game in five years.
LeBron James is basketball royalty.
But when it comes to Christmas viewing figures, there’s only one ‘King’ in town, and it’s not the Los Angeles Lakers superstar nor the NBA.
After leading his Lakers to a Christmas Day victory over Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, four-time NBA champion James boldly proclaimed: “I love the NFL. I love the NFL. But Christmas is our day.”
The NBA has traditionally dominated the festive period, but in recent years the NFL has muscled in on the Christmas action to become numero uno in the eyes of fans.
Netflix set records with the most-streamed NFL games in US history on Wednesday, with an audience of nearly 65 million US viewers for its Christmas doubleheader, according to Nielsen.
The Baltimore Ravens’ 31-2 blowout win over the Houston Texans averaged 24.3 million viewers while Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid‘s Kansas City Chiefs‘ 29-10 win over the Steelers averaged 24.1 million eyeballs.
Both NFL games surpassed the previous mark of 23 million for last season’s AFC wild-card game between the Miami Dolphins and Chiefs on Peacock.
Global ratings and final US numbers are expected to be available next week, with both Christmas games projected to surpass 30 million.
The games were the second and third-most popular live titles in Netflix history, surpassed only by the November 14 fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, with 108 million worldwide viewing at least one minute of the fight card.
Viewership for the Ravens-Texans peaked with the Beyoncé Bowl. The 32-time Grammy winner’s nearly 15-minute halftime performance, which involved 12-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter as a backup dancer, averaged more than 27 million viewers.
The NBA’s five-game slate, meanwhile, averaged about 5.25 million viewers per game across ABC, ESPN and its platforms, according to the league and Nielsen.
“Big middle finger to LeBron and NBA,” posted one fan on X.
“Roger Goodell does it again,” a second added.
Hans Schroeder, the executive vice president of NFL Media, spoke about LeBron’s comments in jest while also being optimistic about the first season of the league’s three-year partnership with Netflix.
“The numbers speak for themselves and LeBron can have his own view, and I’m sure more people will look at that because of this,” Schroeder said.
“But, you know, we’re focused on the NFL and we’re thrilled with the results this year with the Christmas on Netflix and we’re excited to continue to build that over the next couple of years.”
Before last year, the league said it was only playing on Christmas because the holiday fell on a Monday, when the NFL is accustomed to scheduling games.
Last year’s three games averaged 28.68 million viewers, with the early afternoon contest between the Las Vegas Raiders and Chiefs leading the way, averaging 29.48 million on CBS.
Those excellent TV ratings made sure the NFL isn’t going anywhere at Christmas, and there will be at least two NFL games on Christmas in 2025.
The NBA may no longer be America’s most-watched sporting event on Christmas, but that isn’t to say it didn’t have a successful 2024.
The NBA said all five Christmas games on its schedule — San Antonio at New York, Minnesota at Dallas, Philadelphia at Boston, Denver at Phoenix and Lakers-Warriors — saw year-over-year viewership increases.
The Lakers’ 115-113 victory over the Warriors averaged 7.76m viewers and peaked with about 8.32m viewers toward the end of the contest, the league said.
Those numbers made it the most-watched NBA regular season game in five years.
