NEW YORK — The NBA experienced its best Christmas viewership numbers in 15 years last week, the league announced Wednesday.
More than 47 million people in the U.S. watched at least some of the five-game slate on ABC and ESPN, which represents a 45% increase over last year, and there was an average of 5.5 million viewers for the games, up 4% from a year ago, based on ratings date provided by Nielsen.
The game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks was the most-watched Christmas game ever that started at noon Eastern, with an average of 6.4 million viewers. The game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder was the most-watched in the 2:30 p.m. time slot on the holiday since 2017, and the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors was the most-watched in the 5 p.m. time slot on Dec. 25 since 2019.
Also Wednesday, the NBA said it was the “most-viewed brand across social media” on Christmas, with its content generating 1.6 billion views, according to Videocites. That’s up 23% over Christmas 2024.