• Loading stock data...
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Nominations Are Open for Front Office Sports Honors! Submit Now

The NBA Can Compete With the NFL—If Social Video Views Count

The NBA Christmas games averaged about a fifth of the viewership of the NFL, but the social video views generated were only separated by about 14%. 

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The NFL has successfully started to take over Christmas from the NBA—and overwhelming television and streaming viewership numbers show that it has happened.

Despite the NBA recording an 87% year-over-year increase in viewers on Christmas this year, its 5.34 million viewership average on ABC and ESPN was still trounced by the 26.5 million U.S. viewership for the NFL on its Netflix debut.

But the viewership gap wasn’t exactly a shock. The NFL draws tens of millions of viewers every week even during the regular season, while, nowadays, the NBA draws those figures only during the NBA Finals.

However, given the NBA’s 82-game regular season, it does provide significantly more content than the NFL. Lengthy seasons can be detrimental for leagues—not just the NBA, but NHL and MLB as well—as they devalue each game. But the volume allows the NBA to maintain a level of cultural relevancy and drive more social content, and that showed on Christmas.

Data provided by Videocites, a social media tracking and analytics company, shows a much smaller gap between the NFL and NBA compared to TV and streaming viewership.

The data shows that from Dec. 25 to Dec. 27, the NFL drew 921 million video views, about 14% more than the 811 million views the NBA delivered. The NFL was able to do this despite streaming two games during about a seven-hour run time compared to the NBA, which had its first game tip-off at noon ET with the final game ending around 1 a.m. ET.

However, a deeper look into the Videocites numbers shows slightly more than half of the video views generated by the NFL were based on the 12-minute halftime performance of Beyoncé (464 million). The games themselves generated 457 million video views.

The NBA’s run time also allowed for significantly more uploads than the NFL (12,654 vs. 6,112, including the NFL halftime show). 

The numbers show the NFL has cemented its place on Christmas, but the NBA remains a cultural fixture during the holiday as well. However, it does showcase how the NBA must continue creating ways to build and monetize its strong social media content.

The NBA maintains a healthy advantage over every other American sports league in the social space. It has nearly three times as many Instagram followers as the next-highest league (the NFL), and is also ahead on X/Twitter, TikTok, and Youtube.

In the meantime, despite the viewership gaps, the volume of content likely explains why the NBA was able to sign an 11-year media-rights deal worth $77 billion last year, not too far off from the 11-year, $110 billion deal the NFL signed in 2020.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Los Angeles Golf Club owners Alexis Ohanian and Serena Williams cheer for their team against the New York Golf Club during the TGL semifinal match at SoFi Center on March 17, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
exclusive

Serena Williams, Alexis Ohanian Bid on NFL Flag Football

Williams and Ohanian are the first known bidders for the flag football league.
Mar 26, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) in the first half Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Creator Behind the LeBron ‘Glazing’ Trend Sweeping TikTok

FOS spoke to TikTok user OkaySpade who made the original song.

Goodell, Owners Signal 18-Game NFL Season Is Coming—Eventually

The idea of a longer schedule ties into several other league initiatives.

Featured Today

Seattle Kraken

Samantha Holloway Is Seattle’s NHL Present—and Hopeful NBA Future

Samantha Holloway is steering the Kraken and hoping to revive pro hoops.
Brehanna Daniels
March 31, 2025

NASCAR Pit Crew Member Brehanna Daniels Didn’t Know She’d Be a Trailblazer

The first Black female tire changer didn’t know she’d be a trailblazer.
Columbia, SC - February 16, 2025 - Colonial Life Arena: Rebecca Lobo and Ryan Ruocco during a regular season game.
March 30, 2025

Inside Ryan Ruocco’s Rapid Rise to ESPN’s Top Voice of Women’s Hoops

The top voice became “quickly addicted” to calling the women’s game.
Mar 27, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Chris Youngblood (8) and the Alabama Crimson Tide bench celebrate during the second half against the Brigham Young Cougars during an East Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center.
March 29, 2025

How Alabama Became College Basketball’s Newest Juggernaut

The Crimson Tide have found success rivaling their historic football program.
Laney-Hamilton

WNBA Champion Missing Season Shows Risks and Kinks of Unrivaled

The Liberty have six weeks to make a decision on Betnijah Laney-Hamilton.
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton
March 31, 2025

Major Unrivaled Injury Hits WNBA

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton injured her meniscus at the new Miami league.
Nov 10, 2024; Munich, Germany; The NFL shield logo at midfield during the 2024 NFL Munich Game at Allianz Arena.
April 1, 2025

NFL’s Global Ambitions Now Extend to Abu Dhabi

Three teams gain marketing rights to the United Arab Emirates.
Sponsored

How UBS Crafts Impactful Partnerships Across Sports, Arts, and Culture

As UBS continues to expand its impressive array of sports and entertainment partnerships, the company solidifies its position as a leader in wealth management.
exclusive
March 31, 2025

NFL Considers Backers for Pro Flag Football Leagues Ahead of LA28

The 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles are seen as a likely watershed event.
Torpedo bat
March 31, 2025

Yankees Used the ‘Torpedo’ Bats Last Year

The bats are being widely adopted across baseball.
March 30, 2025

NFL Owners Face Big Decisions on 18th Game, Streaming, Rules

The league approaches its key offseason gathering with a sense of resurgent growth.
March 30, 2025

MLB OK With New Yankees ‘Torpedo’ Bats Used in 9-HR Game

The home run barrage tied an MLB record.