LeBron James will have to make room in the NFL.
Wednesday doubleheader on Netflix set records as the most streamed NFL games in US history, with numbers nearly five times higher than the NBA.
The Baltimore Ravens’ 31-2 win over the Houston Texans averaged 24.3 million, while Kansas City’s 29-10 win at Pittsburgh averaged 24.1 in early viewership figures by Nielsen on Thursday.
Nielsen also said there were 65 million American viewers tuned in for at least one minute of one of the two matches.
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The NBA’s five-game slate averaged about 5.25 million viewers per game on ABC, ESPN and its platforms, according to the league and Nielsen.
“I love the NFL,” James said in his televised postgame interview Wednesday night. “But Christmas is our day.”
While the NBA’s Christmas lineup had its best viewership in five years, the NFL has made Christmas one of its events during the regular season, joining Kickoff Weekend and Thanksgiving.
“The numbers speak for themselves and LeBron can have his own vision, and I’m sure more people will watch because of that,” said Hans Schroeder, executive vice president of NFL Media. “But, you know, we’re focused on the NFL and we’re thrilled with the results this year with Christmas on Netflix and we’re excited to continue to build on that over the next two years.”
The two NFL games topped the previous mark of 23 million for last season’s AFC wild-card game between the Miami Dolphins and Chiefs on Peacock.
Ravens-Texans attendance peaked with the Beyoncé Bowl. The 20-minute halftime performance averaged more than 27 million viewers.
Viewership figures include viewership on Netflix, mobile viewership on NFL+ and those tuning in to CBS stations in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Baltimore and Houston.
The overall rankings and final US numbers are expected to be available on Tuesday.
NFL Christmas numbers were down from last season, but not at the rate that usually happens when something goes from broadcast to broadcast.
Last year’s three games averaged 28.68 million viewers. The early afternoon contest between the Raiders and Las Vegas Chiefs led the way, averaging 29.48 million on CBS.
Once global and Netflix figures are released, both Christmas games should top 30 million.
The NBA lineup saw an 84% increase from 2023. One reason for the increase is that all five games were on ABC, compared to two last year.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ 115-113 win over the Golden State Warriors, a game that featured fellow Olympians LeBron James and Stephen Curry, averaged 7.76 million viewers and peaked at about 8 .32 million viewers toward the end of the contest, the league said.
Those numbers represent the NBA’s most-watched regular season game in five years.