Is the NFL taking over the NBA in terms of marketing, businesses, and viewership? Well, the increase in viewership of the NFL regular games, to that of the NBA tells the surging story of American football. Reportedly, averaging from 17.5 million viewers to 25 million viewers each week in NFL regular and prime games, the football league has started surpassing the NBA’s average around 1.62 million viewers for games last season.

And who can forget the Christmas hype of the NFL’s last season, taking over the NBA’s dominance with over 20 million views. Does that mean Roger Goodell and the NFL is going to surpass the 94 by 50 feet basketball court and their viewers? Colin Cowherd and Nick Wright discussed the current scenario of business of both the leagues, hinting the NFL’s surge in the United States.

Is the NFL seeing an opportunity to capitalize on the NBA?

In a recent episode of the The Colin Cowherd Podcast, host Cowherd was joined by Nick Wright to discuss various sports-centric topics, including that of NFL and NBA changing business landscape. They highlighted how the NFL might be taking advantage of the NBA’s schedule, which starts a month later and extends into early July, could be adjusted to avoid overlapping with the NFL’s season. Cowherd believes that the NFL sees an opportunity to capitalize on the NBA’s perceived weaknesses, such as the aging of star players like LeBron James and Stephen Curry, as well as potential marketing missteps during big events.

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He also pointed out that Roger Goodell and the NFL’s decision to schedule big games on Christmas, traditionally an NBA showcase day, could be a strategic move to overshadow chairman Adam Silver’s NBA. Cowherd suggested that the NFL’s aggressive approach signals a shift in the balance of power between the two leagues. He expressed, “I think and I do believe that’s a Tipping Point that Christmas Day mattered a lot to the NBA and those NFL games put a blanket over it.”

Wright also highlighted that NFL scheduling games on Christmas Day is bad for the NBA because it diminishes their significance. But he also sees it as a strategic error by the NFL long-term. Wright thinks that by saturating the schedule with games on important days like Christmas, it may dilute the perception of NFL games as must-watch events, as people may feel it’s okay to miss them. He argued that this could ultimately hurt the NFL’s long-term appeal despite the short-term ratings boost.

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Well, it only remains to be seen whether the NFL continues to dominate the viewership over NBA games in the future too, or if Wright’s words will come true. Nevertheless, meanwhile the NFL is exceeding the NBA with a massive viewership, especially in comparison to their Christmas battle.

NFL vs NBA: Christmas Day

For the fourth consecutive year, the NFL held games on Christmas Day. Last year was notable as it featured three games across three networks, the most in the NFL’s 19-year history of Christmas Day games. Similarly, the NBA, known for its Christmas Day games since 1947, also had a full line of matchups. According to viewership data from Front Office Sports, the NFL significantly outperformed the NBA in viewership on Christmas.

Notably, the NFL’s three games drew substantial audiences, with the Raiders vs Chiefs game on CBS being the most-watched Christmas Day NFL game, with an average of 29.2 million viewers. Similarly, the NBA’s five-game line up, aired on ESPN and ABC, were able to collect 5 million viewers the highest in one game, while the largest drop was observed in the Heat–76ers game (1.3 million viewers).

No doubt the NFL has currently surpassed the NBA in terms of viewership worldwide, and it seems Roger Goodell’s aim to make the league a global sport is not far off.