NBA Christmas viewership hits 15-year high with 47M viewers. And social media numbers set records

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A screen displays "Christmas Day Game" before an NBA basketball game between the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

San Antonio Spurs Keldon Johnson (3) celebrates against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong) — A screen displays "Christmas Day Game" before an NBA basketball game between the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

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1:09 PM on Wednesday, December 31, 2025

The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA saw its best Christmas Day viewership numbers in 15 years, the league announced Wednesday.

More than 47 million people in the U.S. watched at least some of the five-game slate on ABC and ESPN, which represents a 45% increase over last year. And there was an average of 5.5 million viewers for the games, up 4% from a year ago.

The Cleveland-New York game was the most-watched Christmas game ever that started at noon Eastern, with an average of 6.4 million viewers. The San Antonio-Oklahoma City game was the most-watched in the 2:30 p.m. Christmas timeslot since 2017 and the Dallas-Golden State game was the most-watched in the 5 p.m. timeslot on the holiday since 2019.

Nielsen said it provided the ratings data.

Also Wednesday, the NBA said it was the “most-viewed brand across social media” on Christmas, with its content generating 1.6 billion views, according to Videocites. That's up 23% over Christmas 2024.

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