LeBron James handed brutal reality check after his NFL Christmas warning

LeBron James has been given a brutal reality check after the NFL’s ratings crushed those of the NBA on Christmas Day.

After the Los Angeles Lakers’ celebratory victory over the Golden State Warriors, James looked into the camera and said, “I love the NFL.” But Christmas is our day.”

The timing of the message to America’s most popular sport was poignant, as the NBA had five games scheduled compared to the NFL’s two.

However, the NFL remains committed to the festive action and their pair of games were the most for a non-Sunday Christmas Day in the league’s history.

And their strategy is clearly working after Netflix set records Wednesday for the most streamed NFL games in U.S. history, leaving the NBA behind.

The NFL and Nielsen said 65 million U.S. viewers watched at least one minute of one of the two NFL games.

The Baltimore Ravens’ 31-2 win over the Houston Texans averaged 24.3 million, while Kansas City’s 29-10 win at Pittsburgh averaged 24.1 million, according to early ratings Nielsen released Thursday.

The five-game NBA series averaged approximately 5.25 million viewers per game on ABC, ESPN and its platforms, according to the league and Nielsen.

Although the NBA had the sports calendar to itself on December 25 for years, the NFL has made Christmas one of its tentpole events during the regular season, along with Kickoff Weekend and Thanksgiving.

Hans Schroeder, the executive vice president of NFL Media, took James’ comments in jest but also welcomed the first season of the league’s three-year partnership with Netflix.

“The numbers speak for themselves and LeBron can have his own opinion, and I’m sure that will get more people looking at it,” he said.

“But you know, we’re focused on the NFL and we’re really happy with the results this year with Christmas on Netflix and we’re excited to continue to build on that in the years to come.”

Both NFL plays surpassed the previous 23-yard mark for last season’s AFC wild-card game between the Miami Dolphins and Chiefs at Peacock.

Viewership for Ravens-Texans peaked with the Beyoncé Bowl. The nearly 13-minute halftime performance averaged more than 27 million viewers.

The viewership figures include the audience on Netflix, the mobile viewership on NFL+ and those who tuned in to CBS stations in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Baltimore and Houston.

The global ratings and final U.S. figures are expected to be available Tuesday.

The NFL’s Christmas numbers are down from last season, but not at the rate that usually happens when something moves from broadcast to streaming.

Last year’s three games averaged 28.68 million viewers. The early afternoon game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Chiefs led the way, averaging a 29.48 million on CBS.

Once Netflix’s global and first-party data is released, both Christmas games should surpass 30 million.

The games were the second and third most popular live titles in Netflix history, surpassed only by the November 14 fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson.

That fight averaged a global audience of 60 million people and peaked at 65 million concurrent streams, including 38 million concurrent streams in the United States.

According to Netflix, 108 million people worldwide watched at least one minute of the fight card.

There will be at least two NFL games on Christmas next year, but because the holiday falls on a Thursday, it’s more likely to be three with two afternoons and one prime time. The NFL has had three Thanksgiving Day games since 2006.

“Everything Netflix did all day, from the quality of the stream, the production and the graphics, made it feel like such a special Christmas day,” Schroeder said. “You had the opening with Mariah (Carey), you had Beyonce, it all took things to another level.”

The biggest win for Netflix, however, is that there were very few streaming complaints. The only gripe for most is that the stream didn’t immediately go to live action if someone logged in after the game started.

“Bringing our members this record-breaking day of two NFL games was the best Christmas gift we could have given,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria said in a statement.

“We’re grateful for our partnership with the NFL, all of our amazing on-air talent, and please let’s not forget the electrifying Beyoncé and the brilliant Mariah Carey.”

The NBA said all five Christmas games on the schedule — San Antonio at New York in Victor Wembanyama’s holiday debut, Minnesota at Dallas, Philadelphia at Boston, Denver at Phoenix and Lakers-Warriors — saw year-over-year increases in viewership saws.

The NBA’s lineup saw an 84% increase from 2023. One reason for the increase is that all five games were on ABC, compared to two last year.

The Lakers’ 115-113 victory over the Warriors — a game that featured Olympic teammates James and Stephen Curry — averaged 7.76 million viewers and peaked near the end of the game with about 8.32 million viewers, the league said.

These numbers represent the most-watched NBA regular-season game in five years.