Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo drives against Boston Celtics forward Blake Griffin, Dec. 25, 2022, in Boston.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo drives against Boston Celtics forward Blake Griffin during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022, in Boston. Mary Schwalm, Associated Press
Kelsey Dallas
By Kelsey Dallas
Kelsey is an assistant managing editor for the Deseret News. She covers religion, sports and the Supreme Court.

If your family is anything like mine, then sports provide a soundtrack for your Christmas celebrations.

We put on the first NBA game when it’s time to start thinking about lunch and keep watching the action until late at night. This year, we were able to mix in multiple NFL games, too, since Christmas fell on a Sunday.

According to viewership data from the holiday weekend, millions of other Americans also tuned into sporting events on Christmas Day.

Here are the viewership numbers for the NBA games, listed from most watched to least watched:

  • Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics — 6.03 million viewers.
  • Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors — 4.70 million.
  • Los Angeles Lakers vs. Dallas Mavericks — 4.33 million.
  • Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks — 4.04 million.
  • Phoenix Suns vs. Denver Nuggets — 2.49 million.

The least-watched game, which was between the Suns and Nuggets, didn’t start until 8:30 p.m. MST.

Here are the viewership numbers for the NFL games, listed from most watched to least watched:

Green Bay Packers vs. Miami Dolphins — 25.92 million viewers.

Denver Broncos vs. Los Angeles Rams — 22.57 million.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Arizona Cardinals — 17.15 million.

As was the case in the NBA, the NFL’s latest game, which was between the Cardinals and Bucs, fared the worst in terms of total viewers.

Is the NFL more popular than the NBA?

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Although NBA games are more common on Christmas than NFL games, the viewership data showed that Americans aren’t wedded to watching basketball on the holiday.

The football games were much more popular this year, with two of the three getting more viewers than all the NBA games put together.

In general, the NFL performs well on viewership rankings. NFL games accounted for 75 of the top 100 most-watched U.S. TV broadcasts in 2021, according to Sportskeeda. The NBA, on the other hand, didn’t account for any.

“The NBA will continue to have its loyal fanbase and following. But the ratings have spoken, and they say the NFL is still the most popular sport in the United States,” Sportskeeda reported.

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