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As the NFL anticipates setting more regular-season TV ratings records on Thanksgiving Day, college basketball broadcasters and organizers are happily riding the league’s coattails as a new sports viewing trend emerges on the holiday.
For the first time, both Fox and CBS will air men’s college basketball games directly following their respective Thanksgiving Day NFL games.
Here is Thursday’s lineup (all in Eastern Time):
- 1 p.m.: Packers at Lions (Fox)
- 4:30 p.m.: No. 16 North Carolina vs. No. 11 Michigan State (Fox)
- 4:30 p.m.: Chiefs at Cowboys (CBS)
- 8 p.m.: No. 4 Duke vs. No. 22 Arkansas (CBS)
This year’s Turkey Day NFL–college basketball slate comes after Fox and CBS the past two years aired the two most-watched regular-season college hoops games since 2008. Both of those matchups were in the late afternoon window, directly following the early Thanksgiving Day NFL game. Fox drew 5.18 million viewers for Michigan State–Arizona in 2023, and CBS drew 5.17 million viewers for Illinois-Arkansas in 2024.
Both college basketball games on Thursday are neutral-site matchups organized by Intersport, a major industry agency. UNC–Michigan State is the finale of the four-day, eight-team Skechers Fort Myers Tip-Off event in Florida. Duke-Arkansas is the headliner of the single-day CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic at the United Center in Chicago, which includes just one other game (Oklahoma State–Northwestern at 10:30 p.m. ET on Peacock).
The opponents were strategically selected, Intersport SVP Mark Starsiak tells Front Office Sports, like putting the Spartans after the Lions to attract more fans with Michigan ties. “As long as you set the matchups properly and you’re avoiding a [knockout-style] tournament, you can find a home for the right games on one or both networks every Thanksgiving,” Starsiak says.
There is an obvious attraction for programs to capitalize on strong lead-in audiences from any NFL game, but especially Thanksgiving matchups, which are annually some of the most-watched TV windows (sports or otherwise) of the year. In 2024, Bears-Lions drew 37.4 million viewers on CBS, and Giants-Cowboys drew 38.5 million viewers on Fox.
On Thursday, a competitive Chiefs-Cowboys game is widely expected to break the NFL’s previous regular-season viewership record of 42.1 million for Giants-Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day in 2022. The matchup could even hit 50 million viewers.
College basketball has long had a place on cable channels on Thanksgiving, as early-season tournaments fill broadcast slots for networks like ESPN, FS1, and others. Moving forward, college hoops will “continue to have a seat at the table” for network TV consideration on the holiday with “the right matchups,” Starsiak says.
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