NEW YORK — The NBA experienced its best Christmas Day viewing figures in 15 years, the league announced Wednesday.
More than 47 million people in the United States watched at least some of the five-game programming on ABC and ESPN, representing a 45% increase over last year. And there were an average of 5.5 million viewers for the games, a 4% increase compared to the previous year.
The Cleveland-New York game was the most-watched Christmas game beginning at noon ET, averaging six.four million viewers. The game between San Antonio and Oklahoma City was the most watched in the 2:30 p.m. Christmas time slot since 2017, and the game between Dallas and Golden State was the most watched in the 5 p.m. time slot since 2019.
Additionally, the league claimed it was the “most viewed brand on social media” on Christmas, with its content generating 1.6 billion views. That represents a 23% increase over Christmas 2024.
