NBA national TV viewership has surged 92% year-over-year in the first two weeks of the 2025-26 season—the highest since 2013—driven primarily by more games airing on broadcast TV via NBC, the league announced.
The jump stems from the NBA’s new media rights deal, which replaced TNT and NBA TV slots with NBC, Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video, prioritizing accessibility over cable. Adding NBC broadcast games has delivered immediate gains, outpacing contributions from the league’s “Tap to Watch” app feature that lets users switch live games.
Preseason concerns—raised by Charles Barkley and others—about fragmented streaming access have proven overblown. While streaming games increased, the net addition of over-the-air NBC broadcasts has expanded reach significantly.
This shift aligns with broader TV trends: as cable audiences shrink, Big Four networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC) remain dominant for live sports due to their scale in viewership and ad delivery. The NBA’s strategic move to broadcast has capitalized on this, turning a potential fragmentation risk into a clear early-season ratings win.