NBA makes major announcement

In a departure from last season when ABC simulcast just two of five NBA games on Christmas Day in order to fulfill its NFL commitments, the network will air all five games on Christmas Day this season.

The news was first discovered by TVSportsUpdates on X (formerly Twitter) and then confirmed by industry publication Sports Media Watch on Monday.

It will be the second time in three seasons that ABC will air the full slate of NBA games on Christmas. The network last aired every Christmas Day game in 2022, and was rewarded with increased viewership for the decision despite going head-to-head with an NFL tripleheader on other broadcast networks that same day.

ABC will face no such competition from the NFL this season, at least by other networks. The NFL will play an afternoon doubleheader on Christmas with games streaming exclusively on Netflix, opening the lane for ABC to be the only broadcast network airing live sports on the holiday.

As usual, the first game will tip-off at 12 p.m. ET on the East Coast and the final game will start at 10:30 p.m. ET In order of play, the day will start with the San Antonio Spurs against the New York Knicks at 12 p.m. ET, followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves visiting the Dallas Mavericks at 2:30 p.m., the Philadelphia 76ers against the Boston Celtics at 5:00 p.m., the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors at 8:00 p.m., and the Denver Nuggets taking on the Phoenix Suns in the nightcap at 10:30 p.m.

The move to simulcast all five games comes amid a similar announcement last week in which ABC scheduled six additional Monday Night Football simulcasts, a decision that upset other network executives and pay-TV distributors.

Like other content providers, Disney has increasingly decided to value the expanded reach of airing live sports on broadcast over keeping telecasts behind the paywall. The decision to air a full slate of NBA games on Christmas Day seems like a no-brainer for the network given that the NFL ceded its stranglehold on broadcast television for the day.

As such, comparisons to last year’s Christmas Day viewership should certainly look favorable for the NBA this season. Last year, the league hit record-low viewership for the holiday, declining year-over-year in all five game windows. With three additional games airing on ABC this season, it should be no sweat for the NBA to rebound substantially from last year’s lows.

[ Sports Media Watch ]

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