The NFL is scheduling at least one game for Christmas Day 2024, even though it falls on a Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution, told the publication that the league will play on Wednesday because the “fans clearly spoke” through their viewership. The three Christmas Day games in 2023, played on a Monday, each were among the top 10 in ratings in the regular season, per the report.
“There’s a big demand,” he said.
Wednesday games are rare. The last time a game was played on a Wednesday came in 2021, when a COVID-19 outbreak forced the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers to delay their planned Thanksgiving game until the following Wednesday.
This will be the fifth straight season the NFL has played on Christmas, encroaching on a sports day typically dominated by the NBA.
In 2024, the NFL schedule calls for the league to be idle only on Tuesdays.
The league holds games every week on Sunday, Monday and Thursday, with some late-season contests held on Saturday. A Black Friday game was introduced last year and will continue in 2024, and a Week 1 game in Brazil also will occur on Friday.
