Christmas Sports on Sling TV: NBA, NFL, Bowl Season, and More
The long holiday weekend means even more sports on Sling! From NBA Christmas games to Bowl season and more, here's your guide.
Santa is bringing us an extra helping of Sportsball this holiday season.
Because Christmas falls on a Monday, the holiday weekend is jam-packed with sports in 2023. We’re talking college football bowl games, NFL football, and, of course, a ton of NBA action on Christmas day. With so many games on the holiday docket, we’re making a list (and checking it twice) of all the sports you can watch live on Sling TV during the Christmas break. To watch the most sports with Sling, use the link below to subscribe to Sling Orange + Blue with Sports Extras.
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NBA
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As always, the NBA has stuffed the Christmas Day schedule with some of the best matchups and biggest players. Fresh off a career-best 64 point game against the Indiana Pacers, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks will visit the New York Knicks to tip-off the action at noon ET. That’s followed by the Golden State Warriors taking on the defending champion Denver Nuggets at 2:30pm ET. The classic Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers rivalry is up next at 5pm ET, followed by reigning MVP Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers taking their talents to South Beach to take on the Miami Heat. The Christmas games wrap up with a showdown between Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks and Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns. Check out the full Christmas Day schedule below; to watch every game, subscribe to Sling Orange with ESPN and ESPN3, which simulcasts the ABC games.
Christmas Day Games
Milwaukee Bucks at New York Knicks - Noon ET, ESPN
Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets - 2:30pm ET, ABC/ ESPN
Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers - 5pm ET, ABC/ ESPN
Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat - 8pm ET, ESPN
Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns - 10:30pm ET, ESPN
NFL on Sling
As we near the end of the regular season, NFL football spills into Saturdays. Christmas weekend kicks off with a AFC North showdown between the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, Dec. 23 (4:30pm ET, NBC). The next day on Christmas Eve, the Denver Broncos will try to keep their playoff hopes alive when they host the New England Patriots (8:15pm ET, NFL Network). Christmas Day features a tripleheader, beginning with the Las Vegas Raiders traveling to KC to take on Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs (you’ll need Paramount+ to watch that one); that’s followed by the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles at 4:30pm ET on FOX; and finally, in what could be a preview of February’s Super Bowl, the Baltimore Ravens will take on the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football on ABC. NBC and FOX are available with Sling Blue in select markets, and ESPN3 is available with Sling Orange. Here’s the full schedule of games on Sling:
Saturday, Dec. 23
Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers - 4:30pm ET, NBC (Sling Blue in select markets)
Sunday, Dec. 24
New England Patriots at Denver Broncos - 8:15pm ET, NFL Network (Sling Blue)
Monday, Dec. 25
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles - 4:30pm ET, FOX (Sling Blue in select markets)
Baltimore Ravens at San Francisco 49ers - 8:15pm, ABC/ ESPN3 (Sling Orange or Blue in select markets)
College Football
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The midpoint of Bowl Season, there are seven bowl games scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 23, all of which will be available with Sling Orange. Two games kick off at noon: the Birmingham Bowl between Troy and Duke (ABC/ ESPN3) and the Camellia Bowl with Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois (ESPN). Those games are followed by a pair of 3:30pm ET contests: the always tasty Famous Idaho Potato Bowl featuring Georgia State and Utah State; and what should be a fun Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl between James Madison and Air Force (ABC/ ESPN3). The night games kick off at 7pm ET with the 68 Ventures Bowl, where South Alabama takes on Eastern Michigan (ESPN). The SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl is next, with Utah facing Northwestern (ABC/ ESPN3). And finally, west coasters (and east coast night owls) can stay up late to watch the EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl between Coastal Carolina and San Jose State at 10:30pm ET (ESPN). Check out the full schedule of Saturday’s games below; for a complete guide to Bowl Season on Sling, follow this link.
Sat., Dec. 23
Birmingham Bowl - Troy vs. Duke - Noon ET, ABC/ ESPN3
Camellia Bowl - Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois - Noon ET, ESPN
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl - James Madison vs. Air Force - 3:30pm ET, ABC/ ESPN3
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl - Georgia State vs. Utah State - 3:30pm ET, ESPN
68 Ventures Bowl - South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan - 7pm ET, ESPN
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl - Utah vs. Northwestern - 7:30pm ET, ABC/ ESPN3
EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl - Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State - 10:30pm ET, ESPN
NHL
Unlike the NBA and NFL, the NHL is giving its players a Christmas break following its games on Saturday, Dec. 23 (catch the Dallas Stars at Nashville Predators at 3pm ET, followed by the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ottawa Senators at 7pm ET on NHL Network). Although there’s no hockey from Christmas Eve through Dec. 26, the NHL will be busy preparing its annual Winter Classic outdoor game on New Year’s Day. This year’s edition finds the defending Stanley Cup champs Vegas Golden Knights traveling to Seattle to take on the Kraken from T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners. That game will air on TNT at 3pm ET on Jan. 1; TNT is available with Sling Orange or Blue.
Sat., Dec. 23
Dallas Stars at Nashville Predators - 3:00pm ET, NHL Network
Pittsburgh Penguins at Ottawa Senators - 7:00pm ET, NHL Network
Holiday break Dec. 24-26
Winter Classic on New Year’s Day
Vegas Golden Knights at Seattle Kraken (T-Mobile Park) - 3:00pm ET, TNT
Premier League
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Although there are no games on Christmas Day, the Premier League will play nationally-televised games Thursday through Sunday. On Thursday, Dec. 21, Brighton visits Crystal Palace at 3pm ET to kick off Matchweek 18, followed by a match between Aston Villa and Sheffield United on Friday at 3pm (both of those matches are on USA Network, available with Sling Blue). Saturday, Dec. 23 sees a full slate of action, beginning with West Ham taking on Manchester United at 7:30am ET (USA); next, Luton Town plays Newcastle at 10am ET (USA); and finally, in one of the biggest matches of the season, it’s a battle for the top of the table when Arsenal visits Liverpool at 12:30pm ET (NBC, which is available with Sling Blue in select markets). The holiday weekend wraps up on Sunday with a match between Wolves and Chelsea (8am ET, USA). The action continues on Tuesday, when four games are scheduled during daytime hours. Here's a full look at the upcoming schedule on Sling.
Premier League Soccer
Watch on USA and NBC (Select Markets) with Sling Blue
Men’s College Basketball
We’re still a long way from March, but things are starting to get a little bit crazy in college basketball. The men’s schedule on Saturday, Dec. 23 features some tasty top 10 matchups, including No. 1 Arizona taking on No. 15 Florida Atlantic at 3pm ET on FOX, followed by Rick Patino’s St. John’s Red Storm facing off with No. 5 UConn at 6pm ET on FOX. While there are no games scheduled for Christmas, Christmas Eve is the final day of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamondhead Classic, which features Nevada, Temple, TCU, Old Dominion, Georgia Tech, UMass, Portland, and Hawai’i. All four of those games will air on ESPN or ESPN2 beginning at 1:30pm ET. Additional games on Saturday include Alabama taking on Eastern Kentucky (SEC Network), and Villanova visiting DePaul (FS1).
Follow this link for a complete schedule of all upcoming sports on Sling TV!