🏟️ The Battle for Christmas Day Sports

Happy Holidays!

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Let’s jump right into this week’s edition of Sports Industry Weekly as we share insights from the top business headlines from across the sports industry.

The NFL has taken over Christmas from the NBA.

For years, the NBA owned Christmas day sports.

But with basketball viewership on the decline, the NFL has stepped up with marquee holiday games and entertainment.

This year’s NFL Christmas Day games on Netflix were the most-streamed in history, averaging 24.2 million viewers for their doubleheader, compared to the NBA’s 5.25 million average viewers for their slate of Christmas Day games.

Despite five highly competitive NBA games, the numbers showed that sports fans and their families were watching football and Beyoncé's halftime show.

LeBron was quoted after his Christmas Day win, saying, "I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day."

We want to know…

⭐️ JuJu Watkins and USC's victory over Paige Bueckers and UConn averaged 2.23 million viewers on FOX, making it the most-watched women's college basketball game on any network this season and the second most-watched women's college basketball game ever on FOX.

👟 Damian Lillard has agreed to a lifetime contract extension with adidas, joining LeBron James and Kevin Durant (Nike) and Stephen Curry (Under Armour/Curry Brand) as the only active NBA players with lifetime shoe endorsements.

🏀 Sabrina Ionescu is joining Unrivaled as its final roster addition, and received an “unprecedented and historic” contract with the 3-on-3 basketball league.

💰 Jordan Brand paid Jalen Hurts’ $5,628 fine to the NFL after he wore mismatched cleats during the Eagles' Week 15 game against the Steelers. A brand spokesperson was quoted as saying, “You can’t ban greatness.”

🌭 Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia announced a $2 value menu for home game concessions, making the Footprint Center's menu the most affordable and fan-friendly in the NBA. The Atlanta Falcons have also recently reduced their concession prices, with hot dogs dropping from $8 to $2, sodas from $5 to $2, and beer from $8 to $5.

🏐 The 2024 NCAA Volleyball Championship between Louisville and Penn State was the second most-watched NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship ever, with 1.3 million viewers on ABC.

🔟 Mike Tyson, Imane Khelif, Simone Biles, Scottie Scheffler, and Jake Paul lead the top 10 most searched athletes in 2024, according to Google Trends data.

📺 Netflix continues to invest in sports, with their upcoming live sports calendar featuring WWE marquee events in 2025 and the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031. They will also release Beyoncé’s Christmas Day performance as a standalone special and a documentary on the origin story of Jerry Jones and his ownership of the Dallas Cowboys.

🌀 Former University of Miami Men's Basketball Coach Jim Larrañaga has stepped down from the team after struggling to navigate the NIL era, as the future of NIL continues to evolve and requires everyone in the sports ecosystem to adapt their workflows and systems.

🏟️ The Philadelphia 76ers' new $1.3 billion Center City arena has been approved, and the team plans to open '76 Place' in 2031.

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