The game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day drew more fans than any other NBA regular season game in the past five years.
After putting together the best matchup possible and returning to the traditional Christmas message, the NBA drew far more viewers than expected. Reports suggest that Christmas 2023 will draw 4 million viewers, so the league will be happy just to beat that number, and will be overjoyed if viewership approaches 6 million.
However, the Lakers vs. Warriors game averaged 7.76 million viewers (peaked at 8.32 million), making it the most-watched NBA regular season game since 2019, prompting network executives to It looks as if a reply has been received to the letter.
The entire Christmas game was the league's most-watched game in five years. ESPN The average number of viewers was reported to be 5.25 million. This total increased by 84% compared to 2023.
“Goofy goes straight to the rack!”
After pulling out all the stops to get such shocking numbers, ESPN's producers are sure to earn a spot on Santa's nice list in 2024.
The broadcast focused on saying “Merry Christmas,'' and at the same time, used Disney animated characters to touch the hearts of viewers. This included Mickey Mouse's wish for his friends to be able to play basketball on Christmas, and Santa made that wish come true in the form of an alternate broadcast on ESPN.
ESPN2, Disney+, and ESPN+ offered the San Antonio Spurs vs. New York Knicks game as an animated broadcast called .dunk the hole. ”
In the animated version, Disney characters were sometimes superimposed on top of the NBA players, resulting in offensive moves by Donald Duck and defensive plays by Minnie Mouse. The broadcast also had its own staff of announcers and featured hilarious commentary that simply told what happened on screen.
“Goofy goes straight to the rack! Oh my god!” ESPN's Drew Carter said At some point. “Inside and out… Goofy is unstoppable!” he later added.
The broadcast was similar to ESPN's Monday Night Football game earlier this month, in which characters from The Simpsons replaced football stars in an animated version of the NFL game.
media personnel He noted that the NFL's Christmas game ended in the afternoon, making the NBA's Christmas the only sports broadcast in the country at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Additionally, the NBA aired the 2024 Christmas game on ESPN and ABC, whereas it aired only on ESPN in 2023.
Nevertheless, the league took a gamble and it paid off.
Viewers were clearly pleased with how much effort was put into the broadcast, and the Christmas message provided a welcome break from all the kind of activism the NBA has become known for in recent years. did.
Promoting a positive Christmas message on Netflix worked well for the NFL, with the platform's concurrent viewership on Christmas Day hitting its highest in four years.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers was also the second most popular live broadcast in Netflix history.
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