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BBC Christmas NBC

The NFL, NBA and the Queen score big in Christmas Day TV ratings

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By Lisa Lacy, n/a

December 27, 2016 | 3 min read

The Sunday Night Football matchup between the Super Bowl 50 champion Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs gave NBC the Christmas Day TV ratings crown, Variety reports.

The Kansas City Chiefs netted big ratings for NBC on Christmas Day.

The Kansas City Chiefs' Christmas Day victory was ratings gold for NBC on Christmas Day. / Kansas City Chiefs: http://www.chiefs.com/media-center/photo-gallery/Photo-Gallery-Chiefs-vs-Broncos-Game-Action/16ad53fe-b5bb-4ce0-861b-4bd71b65d2c8#f08f0f88-123e-4313-8595-89b9978625ac

According to Variety, the Chiefs’ 33-10 victory averaged an 11.2 household rating and 23 share in Nielsen’s overnight metered markets.

What’s more, Variety said NBC’s 42nd annual Christmas Eve telecast of It’s A Wonderful Life also yielded strong viewership with live and same-day ratings up nearly 1 million over last year at 4.5 million. Nevertheless, Jimmy Stewart was not enough to beat the UFC on Fox, which netted an average of 4.7 million viewers, Variety reported.

That being said, ABC’s Christmas Day telecast of the 2016 NBA championship rematch between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors – in which the Cavaliers once again emerged triumphant, albeit narrowly – saw a high of 11.8 million viewers in the fourth quarter and had an average of 10.1 million viewers overall, Variety said.

In the UK, it was the Queen’s Christmas message – which paid tribute to Olympians and Paralympians and lauded unsung heroes – that saw the highest numbers with 7.7 million combined viewers on the BBC and ITV, the BBC reported. But head judge Len Goodman’s final appearance on Strictly Come Dancing’s Christmas Special followed closely behind with 7.2 million viewers, the BBC said.

The first installment of the Great Christmas Bake Off was the third-most popular in the UK with 6.3 million viewers, the BBC added.

BBC Christmas NBC

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