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The National Basketball Association (NBA) has had a long history of partnerships with television networks in the United States, dating back to its first national television broadcaster, DuMont, in the 1953-54 season. Since then, the NBA has been televised by various networks, including NBC, ABC, CBS, and TNT Sports. The 2025-26 season marks a significant shift in NBA television rights, with new 11-year agreements signed with ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video. These deals end a 36-year relationship with TNT Sports and introduce more streaming options for viewers. NBA TV, a dedicated basketball channel, offers daily news programs, documentaries, archived broadcasts, and live coverage of NBA games, with a focus on showcasing the league and its players.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| NBA TV signed a multi-year agreement with cable providers | Cox Communications, Cablevision, and Time Warner Cable |
| Date of agreement | June 28, 2003 |
| Reach of the agreement | 45 million pay television households in the U.S. and distribution in 30 countries worldwide |
| Purpose of the network | Serve as a barker channel for the NBA League Pass and feature statistical and scoring information |
| Programming | News programs devoted to basketball, documentaries, archived broadcasts, and coverage of the NBA draft |
| Number of games carried per season | At least 90 regular-season games |
| Days of the week games typically air | Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays |
| Live game restrictions | Subject to local blackout restrictions due to non-exclusive broadcast rights |
| New deals for 2025-26 to 2035-36 seasons | ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video |
| End of relationship with | TNT Sports |
| NBA TV HD | Available on most providers in 1080i high-definition simulcast feed |
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What You'll Learn
The NBA's $77 billion TV deal with Disney, Amazon and NBC
In July 2024, the NBA announced a new 11-year broadcasting deal with Disney, Amazon, Comcast, and NBCUniversal, worth $77 billion. The deal will see Disney, Comcast, and Amazon collectively pay the NBA around $77 billion over 11 years, increasing the league's annual revenue. The NBA rejected a last-minute offer from Warner Bros Discovery's TNT Sports division, ending a four-decade relationship with the media company.
Under the new deal, Disney will pay the NBA $2.62 billion annually, Comcast $2.45 billion, and Amazon more than $1.8 billion. Disney will carry a total of 80 regular-season NBA games, including 20 contests on the ABC Network. ABC will remain the exclusive home of the NBA Finals, which it has broadcast since 2003. NBCUniversal will pick up 100 regular-season NBA games, with more than half airing on NBC. Its sister service, Peacock, will stream a doubleheader each Monday night of the season. The network will also telecast one of the two Conference Finals series in six of the 11 years of the contract, which it will carry on a rotating basis with Amazon, beginning with the 2025-26 season. Amazon will also carry 66 regular-season NBA games on Prime Video each season, including at least one game on Black Friday.
The WNBA has secured an 11-year, $2.2 billion deal as part of these negotiations, which could increase to as much as $3 billion. The WNBA Finals and the league's semifinals will rotate over the 11-year deal, with Disney airing eight semifinals and five finals, and Prime Video and NBCU each distributing seven semifinals and three WNBA Finals.
The NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, stated that these new global media agreements will "maximize the reach and accessibility of NBA games for fans in the United States and around the world." The new media deals will expand the reach of NBA telecasts, with all national games available on broadly distributed streaming services and increased exposure on broadcast television.
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The end of a 36-year partnership with TNT Sports
On July 24, 2024, the NBA announced new 11-year agreements with ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video, signalling the end of a 36-year partnership with TNT Sports. The new deals, worth $77 billion, will last from the 2025-26 season to the 2035-36 season. The NBA's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, filed and then withdrew a lawsuit following the announcement.
TNT Sports' final series will be the Eastern Conference finals. Under the new TV contracts, ABC/ESPN will broadcast about 18 games in the first two rounds each year, with NBC Sports airing between 22 and 34 first and second-round games, and Amazon Prime Video streaming between 14 and 26. For the conference finals, ABC/ESPN will have one series in the first 10 years of the deal, while the other series will be rotated between NBC and Prime Video.
TNT's signature show, "Inside the NBA", will move to ABC/ESPN, with Disney licensing the show to ensure its survival. The NBA has also agreed to a legal settlement with Warner Bros. Discovery, which includes live game rights for select international territories and sublicensing of "Inside the NBA" to ESPN and ABC.
While the NBA's TV presence will change, the viewing experience may not be drastically different. ABC/ESPN will likely maintain a similar feel to previous seasons, and many of the familiar faces that discuss the games will remain.
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ABC's exclusive broadcast of the NBA Finals since 2003
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has had a long history of partnership with television networks in the United States. ABC has been airing NBA games since 1964, with its first game airing on January 3, 1965.
Since 2003, ABC has exclusively broadcast the NBA Finals, extending the network's consecutive streak of airing the series to over 30 years. This deal also includes the entirety of the playoffs, with no local broadcaster allowed to produce its own broadcast of playoff games.
In 2024, the NBA announced new 11-year agreements with ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video, which will last from the 2025-26 season through to the 2035-36 season. Under these contracts, ABC will have a conference final in "10 of 11" seasons. This deal will also see Disney, which owns ABC, distribute a total of 80 NBA regular-season games per season, with more than 20 games on ABC.
The NBA Finals is one of the few sporting events to be shown on a national broadcast network on a weeknight, and ABC will continue to be the exclusive broadcaster of the NBA Finals through 2036.
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NBC's coverage of the NBA from 1954-1962 and 1990-2002
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has had a long history of partnership with television networks in the United States. NBC's coverage of the NBA began in 1954 until April 7, 1962, marking its first tenure with the NBA. During this time, NBC televised the first-ever NBA Finals game in 1956, which was Game 1 of the Philadelphia-Fort Wayne series.
In 1990, the NBA returned to NBC under a multi-year contract, coinciding with the rise of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The league experienced unprecedented popularity, with ratings surpassing those of the mid-1980s when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird dominated the courts. NBC's coverage of the NBA during this era began on Christmas Day each season, except for a few instances. The 1997-98 season included a preseason tournament featuring the Chicago Bulls, while the 1998-99 season saw no Christmas games due to the NBA lockout.
The partnership between NBC and the NBA lasted for 12 years, ending after the 2001-02 season. During this final season, NBC aired two early-season games featuring the return of Michael Jordan with the Washington Wizards. The network also aired the NBA All-Star Game every year, except in 1999 when it was canceled due to the lockout. NBC's coverage included tripleheaders during the NBA Playoffs, starting in 2000.
In 2002, NBC set a record for the highest-rated Western Conference Final. However, their contract with the NBA came to an end as they were outbid by Disney (via ABC). The NBA signed a broadcast television rights agreement with ABC, which began airing games in the 2002-03 season.
Fast forward to 2024, and NBCUniversal regained the rights to broadcast NBA games under a new contract beginning in the 2025-26 season. This marks the return of the NBA to NBC after a long hiatus, and the addition of streaming platforms like Peacock further showcases the evolution of sports broadcasting.
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The impact of the XFL's failure on NBC's NBA coverage
The XFL was a professional American football league that played only one season in 2001. It was a joint venture between the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and NBC, with the former's commentators and veteran football players joining the latter's sportscasters. NBC lost $35 million on the XFL, which led to the network moving away from sports and ending its contract with the NBA. This marked the end of NBC's first tenure with the NBA, which had begun in 1954.
In 2024, the NBA announced new 11-year agreements with ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video. The deals, worth $77 billion, ended a 36-year domestic broadcast run with TNT Sports. The new agreements will see NBC Sports televise between 22 and 34 first and second-round games, with the remaining games streamed on Peacock. Amazon Prime Video will also stream between 14 and 26 first and second-round games.
The XFL's failure in 2001 led to NBC's departure from sports broadcasting until 2024, when it signed a new deal with the NBA. The impact of the XFL's failure on NBC's NBA coverage was, therefore, minimal as NBC was not covering the NBA at the time. However, the XFL's short-lived existence did pioneer several on-air technologies that would later become commonplace in football telecasts, such as aerial skycams and on-player microphones.
In conclusion, while the XFL's failure did not directly affect NBC's NBA coverage, it did contribute to a shift in NBC's focus away from sports broadcasting and towards scripted entertainment. Additionally, the XFL influenced how sports games are shown on TV and pioneered several on-air technologies that have enhanced the viewing experience for sports fans.
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Frequently asked questions
In 2024, the NBA announced new 11-year agreements with ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video, signalling a shift from cable TV to streaming services. This ended a 36-year domestic broadcast run with TNT Sports.
Viewers will need to subscribe to streaming services to watch NBA games. While this may require more intentionality and additional subscriptions, it also offers convenience and accessibility through streaming platforms.
The new agreements grant exclusive broadcast rights to the NBA's national TV partners, including live games, news programs, documentaries, and archived broadcasts. The number of games and programming varies across platforms, with Prime Video showing the most regular-season games.
