Why Football On Christmas Day Could Be The Next Big Thing

It is Christmas Day and the kids wake up excited. They rush to get ready for the big day and when they run downstairs, they see the biggest gift they could eve imagine: NFL on TV. Well, that probably is not anyone’s fantasy, but that could become a reality soon.

Football is an American tradition, so it seems like a natural fit to have it on Christmas Day. Families usually rematch their Turkey Bowl family football games during Christmas plus, what is the major difference between tailgating cooking and cooking for drunk family members?  Exactly. 

And for those who do not necessarily care for basketball, there now is another option for sports fans to enjoy during their holiday season.

On Christmas Day in 2023, the average viewership (TV+Digital) across all three NFL games – Las Vegas Raiders versus Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants versus Philadelphia Eagles, and Baltimore Ravens versus San Francisco 49ers – was 28.7 million – up +29% versus Christmas last year (22.2 million).

The 1 p.m. ET game on CBS and Nickelodeon between the Raiders and Chiefs averaged 29.6 million viewers (TV+Digital), making it the second most-watched Christmas Day NFL game on record behind only Cincinnati Bengals versus Minnesota Vikings on ABC in primetime in 1989. Raiders-Chiefs is also up +31% versus CBS and Nickelodeon‘s Christmas game in 2022.

The 4:30 p.m. ET game on FOX between the Giants and Eagles averaged 29.0 million viewers (TV+Digital), ranking as the third most-watched Christmas NFL game on record.

The primetime Christmas game on ABC between the Ravens and 49ers averaged 27.6 million viewers (TV+Digital).

All three games rank among the top five Christmas Day NFL games on record, dating back to 1988.

Source: Nielsen and first-party Digital