NBA Christmas games on ESPN, ABC up from 2021

The traditional Christmas Day NBA coverage on ESPN and ABC averaged 4.3 million viewers against all-day NFL coverage, up 5% from last year’s numbers. The Celtics’ win over the Bucks in the 5pm ET window drew the largest audience of 6 million viewers, peaking at 6.8 million toward the end of the game. It was up 16% from the comparable Warriors-Suns game last year. The first game of the day, 76ers-Knicks in the noon window, averaged 4 million viewers to become the most-watched early game since 2011 (that marked the first NBA game of the season due to a lockout). That game also benefited from a ManningCast-style alternative feed on ESPN2 featuring Stephen A. Smith. 

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