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Football fans get a day of NFL games for the first time ever this Christmas.
According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), the NFL will have three games on December 25th. There will be two afternoon games aired on CBS and Fox and one prime time game on NBC.
“Christmas, when it falls on an NFL game day, we had a lot of success there, with all due respect to our friends in the NBA. It’s something our friends are interested in,” NFL Vice President of Broadcasting Mike North said during an appearance on Sal Capaccio’s podcast. “If Christmas falls on a Sunday, that makes perfect sense.”
North also said on the podcast that the NFL would play at least two or three games on Christmas 2023 because it falls on a Monday. In 2024, Christmas will fall on a Wednesday, and North noted that the NFL is unlikely to schedule a midweek competition.
“I’m not sure if we’re going to play on Wednesday,” North said, according to ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio. “But if we can play at Christmas, we will.”
The NFL has been playing Christmas for three years. Last year, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Cleveland Browns 24-22. The matchup averaged 28.6 million viewers on Fox, according to the Associated Press.
The Colts and Cardinals also met at Christmas in the 2021 season when Indianapolis defeated Arizona 22-16. On the NFL Network, the average was 12.6 million.
The NFL’s decision to play games on Christmas helps it compete with the NBA, which has played on December 25 since 1947. The 2021-22 season featured five NBA Christmas games on ESPN and ABC. According to Sports Business Journal’s Austin Kapp, those five games averaged 4.1 million viewers, the lowest since ESPN acquired the NBA’s broadcasting rights in 2002-03.
The NFL announced Thursday that the full season schedule will be released on May 12. However, some games will be announced beforehand, such as the first Thursday night football game on Amazon Prime, international games and other select games.