So what does a sports network do when its biggest rights partners threaten to cannibalize each other's TV audiences?
If you're ESPN, you just grin and bear it.
That's what the Worldwide Leader in Sports will do this weekend as the NFL threatens the NBA and ESPN/ABC's traditional sports hegemony on Christmas Day. Sunday will be the first time since 2011 the NFL has played on Dec. 25, and the first time in a decade it has played multiple games on Christmas.
IYER: Here's an NFL TV schedule that makes sense
ESPN's two most important TV deals are with the NFL and NBA.