With Christmas falling on a Wednesday, there’s plenty of action in the sports world, and we already know that the NFL is going to play a part in it.
A few weeks ago, the NFL had social media buzzing that they could be playing games on Christmas Eve after this past December produced incredible results from the viewing public.
Behind the scenes, the NFL changed its mind as NBC’s ProFootballTalk confirmed that there would be zero games played on December 24th, which would fall on Tuesday.
“We found a path to Wednesday this year,” NFL media distribution executive Hans Schroeder told the Wall Street Journal last month. “Tuesday might be a bridge too far.”
This decision has raised some eyebrows, especially since the league could have made it work. They have a vast audience, and they’ve been known to capitalize on that in the past. As Pro Football Talk pointed out, the numbers for Christmas Eve games aren’t as big as those for Christmas Day games. Last year, a game on NFL Network pulled in an average of 10.21 million viewers.
The 2023 season featured three games on Christmas Day, one of which saw the Las Vegas Raiders go into Arrowhead Stadium and defeat the Kansas City Chiefs. There was also a close finish between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. The final game was between two elite teams in, the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens.
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Those games drew historic ratings as the Raiders-Chiefs averaged 29.6 million viewers, making it the second most-watched Christmas Day game in NFL history. In comparison, the Giants-Eagles averaged 29 million viewers, and Ravens-49ers averaged 27.6 million.
The NFL Will Still Have Games On Christmas During 2024 Season
The NFL will hold two games on Christmas- a Wednesday- this season. Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution, announced this at the Annual League Meeting in March.
The league is planning to schedule a Christmas doubleheader in 2024, even though the holiday is falling on a Wednesday.
Although we know the doubleheader will be happening, it’s still not clear which networks will be showing the games.
