The Christmas matches did not attract as much as in 2022. The figures given by Sports Media Watch show this very well, even if the Nuggets – Warriors audiences are still unknown.
The first match between the Knicks and the Bucks only attracted 2.49 million viewers. Last season, at the same time, the Knicks – Sixers had attracted 4.07 million people. That’s a drop of 39%.
Then, the poster between the Lakers and the Celtics, the most watched match of the evening, broadcast on ABC and ESPN, compiled 5 million viewers. This is less than the 6.08 million for the Bucks – Celtics of 2022 (18% less).
Same observation for the Heat – Sixers meeting, deprived of Jimmy Butler and Joel Embiid, whose audiences do not exceed 1.3 million. This is little compared to the 4.75 million (73% drop!) for the Warriors – Grizzlies last year.
Finally, the last match of the evening, between Phoenix and Dallas, rose to 1.47 million viewers compared to 2.52 million (42% drop) for Denver – Phoenix on December 25, 2022.
As is often the case, the NFL hurt the NBA
These big falls can be explained for two reasons. The first is the lack of posters on ABC. The first, fourth and final games of the evening were only viewable on ESPN and ESPN2, while in 2022 they were also on ABC.
The second, which partly explains the first, is competition from the NFL. Last season also, the American football league had scheduled matches on Christmas Eve, but this season, there were big posters, including Kansas City, defending champion, and Philadelphia, finalist, on the program. And since the NFL took the air on ABC, the NBA could not broadcast its five matches on this channel.
The league can at least console itself with the fact that the Lakers – Celtics is now the most followed match of the regular season, ahead of the “NBA Cup” final between Los Angeles and Indiana, which had 4.6 million viewers glued to it. their screen in early December.
