The large investment made by the streaming platform Netflix to exclusively broadcast NBA games was a success, after it broadcast two regular season games on Wednesday, the visit of the Kansas City Chiefs to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens to the Houston Texans
This Thursday, Netflix and the NFL reported that these unusual Wednesday broadcasts, something that the NFL does not historically do and which has been heavily criticized by players and former players, was a financial success, as the ratings were higher than those of the five games broadcast by the NBA on its traditional Christmas Day.
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According to Nielsen, the NFL day drew an estimated 65 million viewers, while the entire NBA day would have reached a rating of just 5.25 million viewers.
In fact, both NFL games will go down in history as the most watched games in the league’s history, with average audiences of 24 million viewers each, and became the most watched NFL games in streaming history in the United States, quintupling the audience of NBA games, which are facing a serious crisis of low viewership.
The Ravens’ rout of Houston averaged 24.3 million viewers, and the Chiefs’ victory in Pittsburgh averaged 24.1 million, according to Nielsen, and include audiences on Netflix, NFL+ and CBS’ local stations in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Baltimore and Houston.
However, final figures are not expected to be available until Tuesday 31 and could exceed 30 million per game, compared to last year’s average of 28.68 million viewers between the Raiders and Chiefs.
The NBA’s problems attracting an audience
While the NBA, despite broadcasting games on ABC and ESPN and their platforms, barely surpassed five million viewers, at least one minute of their games. However, this number represents its best audience in five years, but it simply no longer competes against the NFL
“I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day,” said LeBron James after his nighttime game with the Los Angeles Lakers who defeated the Golden State Warriors. However, the figures showed him that he was not quite right
“We’re focused on the NFL and we’re thrilled with this year’s results with Christmas on Netflix and we’re excited to continue to build on that in the years to come,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL Media’s executive vice president.
However, NBA numbers were up 84% from 2023, mainly because all five games were on ABC, compared to two last year.
The most watched game was precisely the Lakers vs Warriors, with an average of 7.76 million viewers and a peak of approximately 8.32 million viewers towards the end of the game, said the NBA. It was the most-watched NBA regular season game in five years.
While streaming, the NBA increased its audience by 4% compared to last season, as well as more than 500 million video views on its social media platforms on Wednesday, a new record.
