NFL Christmas Day games: Why do US sports play on 25 December?

Why do US sports play on 25 December?

With December 25 falling on a Wednesday this year, the NFL initially said it had no plans to host a Christmas game in 2024.

In March, the league announced it had changed its mind. Then, in May, the NFL entered into a three-year partnership with Netflix to stream Christmas games – and not just in the United States.

“When we saw last year’s viewership, our fans really spoke,” said Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution.

“They really enjoy and want NFL football at Christmas. What we’ve seen over the last few years is unprecedented growth, and not just at Christmas, but at Thanksgiving as well.”

The NFL’s most-watched regular season game was a Thanksgiving game in 2022, attracting 42.1 million viewers.

One of last year’s Christmas games had 29 million, second only to 1989’s.

“This opportunity, this belief that football brings people together, it is even more true during these summer holidays,” added Schroeder.

The league says these will be the first “truly globally distributed games.”

Inevitably, money is also a factor. ABC/ESPN pays $2.6bn (£2.1bn) to broadcast around 100 NBA games each season, including five Christmas games.

That equates to around $26m per game (£21m). To broadcast two NFL games this Christmas, Netflix paid $150 million (£118 million).