The NFL has been on a crusade to own every possible day on the calendar. If the league could play a game on Independence Day, there’s no doubt in my mind they would be letting freedom ring.
This year, Christmas Day landed on a Thursday, which meant the NFL had an excuse to put games on a national spotlight. Christmas has long been a day that the NBA has flexed its muscles, but this year, no one was watching the roundball flex.
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The ratings for the Christmas Day games in both sports have dropped, and Roger Goodell and the pigskin crew have to be thrilled with the results.
NFL and NBA viewership numbers for their Christmas games:
NFL (Netflix, Amazon):
– Cowboys-Commanders: 19.9M
– Lions-Vikings: 27.5M
– Broncos-Chiefs: 21.1M
NBA (ESPN, ABC)
– Cavaliers-Knicks: 6.4M
– Spurs-Thunder: 6.7M
– Mavericks-Warriors: 6.1M
– Rockets-Lakers: 5.4M
-… pic.twitter.com/QwY2Zswl3R
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 31, 2025
All three NFL games were on subscription services, and each did over 19 million, with the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings drawing 27.5 million viewers.
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On the basketball side, the most-watched game of the day was between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The battle between the best teams in the Western Conference drew 6.7 million viewers.
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So, what’s the worst part about all of this? To me, it’s the fact that subscription services won the day. Just when I thought I could cancel one of the 15 I have, they’re going to pull me right back in.
Congratulations to all the machines that were involved in such a successful day. If only my Lions had made it a holiday to remember.
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