• Loading stock data...
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
The biggest names in sports media. All in one room. Get your ticket now!

NBA Christmas Miracle Defused TV Ratings Crisis in One Day

The league’s falling viewership had been a defining storyline of the season until a big momentum shift on Christmas. Now, all eyes are on their efforts to retain that energy. 

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Basketball is often a game of runs, and the NBA just had a big one in its viewership with the five-game slate on Christmas Day. But will it be enough to redefine the season and its current image?

Even in the wake of historic, and much larger, totals for the NFL and its streaming debut on Netflix with four Super Bowl contenders, the NBA’s average of 5.25 million viewers for its Christmas games soared by 84% from a year ago. That draw was capped with the Lakers’ win over the Warriors, which was the most-watched Christmas Day NBA game in five years at 7.76 million.

Perhaps most impactful, though, was the material shift in the NBA’s year-over-year viewership decline, which shrank from 18% before Christmas to just 4%. What had been a defining storyline of the season, even after striking transformative media rights deals kicking in next year, could soon become something else entirely.

“The NBA that everyone has grown to know and love was on display [Wednesday],” former NBA player Matt Barnes said on Instagram, part of a still-growing series of major stars that are speaking publicly on the viewership issue, and he praised the high quality of play happening throughout the day and night.

“I think it’s [commissioner] Adam Silver’s job to figure out how to bottle that up and keep the momentum,” he said.

A key factor for the NBA will be to retain at least some of this holiday energy through the next six weeks—a period traditionally dominated by the NFL playoffs—until the All-Star Game weekend, set for Feb. 14-16 in San Francisco, when basketball returns to the forefront of sports conversation. 

Postseason Watch

The individual NBA game ratings from Wednesday, meanwhile, also reaffirmed how important LeBron James, turning 40 on Monday, and 36-year-old Steph Curry still are to the league.

As the Lakers and Warriors led the way on the holiday viewership, each player starred again as James scored 31 points and Curry had a game-leading 38 in the 115-113 win for Los Angeles. Both teams, however, are still squarely on the playoff bubble. The Lakers are in sixth place in the Western Conference, only a tiebreaker removed from the play-in tournament, while the Warriors are in 10th, just a half-game out of missing the postseason entirely. 

The league’s fans, however, have yet to fully move on to the next generation of stars, and would be advantaged significantly by one or both of the aging stars and their teams reaching the playoffs and making a meaningful run.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

The cast of ESPN College GameDay begins their show prior to the NCAA football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025. The show is the final one for Lee Corso.

OSU Sophomore Wins $250K in McAfee ‘GameDay’ Kicking Contest

The former NFL punter started offering prize money for kicks in 2023.
Stan Verrett and Neil Everett

Stan Verrett and Neil Everett Have Uphill Climb to Succeed on Twitch

The former ESPN anchors’ new show will also be distributed on YouTube.
Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) celebrate their touchdown pass during the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field.

TV Ratings Just Changed Again. The NFL Will Be the Big Winner

Nielsen’s new viewership system will have a big impact on sports.

Less Belichick Hype Could Mean Bad News for CFB Stakeholders

UNC had never begun a football season with so much hype.

Featured Today

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates with offensive lineman Donovan Jackson (74) after a touchdown catch against Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first quarter during the College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on January 20, 2025.

The Most Expensive Roster Year in College Football History

The House settlement created revenue-sharing—and a big NIL loophole.
August 26, 2025

‘You’re Going to Get Beat Up’: The Liberty’s All-Male Practice Squad

A select group suits up weekly to take on the defending champs.
August 24, 2025

The Honey Deuce Effect: How Tennis Perfected the Signature Cocktail

Sold every 1.5 seconds, they total more than $12 million in sales.
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up as the Texas Longhorns prepare to play the Clemson Tigers in the first round of the College Football Playoffs at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium.
August 23, 2025

Schools Are Hesitant to Allow PE Into Their Athletic Departments

Regardless of budget, schools don’t believe the risk is worth the reward.

NFL on Nielsen’s Latest Measurement Upgrade: ‘More Work to Be Done’

The league calls its relationship with the agency a “protracted journey.”
August 28, 2025

NFL Preseason Sees 17% Jump in TV Ratings, Best Since 2018

Average audiences for the exhibition games increase sharply from last year.
September 1, 2025

Lee Corso’s Farewell Delivers Record ‘College GameDay’ Viewership

ESPN averaged 3.5 million viewers, per preliminary figures.
Sponsored

Gareth Bale on MLS vs EPL, Retirement & Buying Cardiff City

Gareth Bale shares his post-soccer business playbook.
Tom Brady
August 27, 2025

NFL Continues to Loosen Tom Brady Restrictions

Brady will be able to attend production meetings–remotely–this season.
ESPN
August 27, 2025

Disney Sues Sling TV Over $5 Day Passes Granting ESPN Access

Newly introduced short-term subscriptions spark a legal challenge.
August 27, 2025

FCC Chair Joins Fox–YouTube TV Fight With Big Game on the Line

The Trump appointee is now involved in another media carriage fight.
Aug 24, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Tommy Fleetwood holds the FedExCup Trophy on the 18th green after winning the TOUR Championship golf tournament.
August 26, 2025

PGA Tour TV Ratings: Fleetwood’s Breakthrough Caps Playoff Surge

Sunday’s final round drew nearly 4.5 million viewers on NBC.