NBA's New Media Deal: A Year in Review
The NBA is kicking off 2026 with impressive viewership numbers, up 18% from the previous year. This success can be attributed to a combination of factors, including more games on broadcast TV and fewer on cable, along with a strong Christmas performance. Across ABC/ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video, the average viewership has reached 2.02 million, surpassing the combined average of ABC/ESPN and TNT/truTV at the start of 2025.
Regional performance shows promise, with 17 out of 29 teams in the U.S. experiencing growth. Interestingly, many of these teams are associated with Main Street Sports Group, which has recently faced financial challenges, missing payments to several franchises (https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2026/01/05/main-street-misses-january-payments-to-nba-teams-15-day-cure-period-begins-soon/).
NBC's coverage of the NBA has been particularly successful, with the October 21 doubleheader being the best NBA Tip-Off in 15 years. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday, introduced on October 28, attracted a record-breaking pre-Christmas audience for an NBA Tuesday game since 1996. NBC's Tuesday games are averaging 2.9 million viewers, an 87% increase from the previous season. While NBC hasn't disclosed Peacock-specific numbers, it's clear that they are lower than linear TV figures.
ESPN and ABC are also performing well, with a 30% increase in viewership year-to-date. Despite fewer games on cable TV, they are averaging 2.53 million viewers, including ABC's Christmas games and a mix of midweek and weekend games on ESPN. Prime Video's debut NBA season is averaging 1.2 million viewers, with a 3% decrease from national networks in comparable windows last season. However, Prime Video is attracting a younger audience, with a median age of 46.6 years, compared to 54.5 years for linear TV.
The NBA's overall viewership has reached an all-time high of 115 million people in the U.S., the best figure at this stage of the season since records began in 2002. The number of viewers across NBC/Peacock, ESPN/ABC, Prime Video, and NBA TV is up 85% compared to the same period last year. Additionally, the NBA has generated a staggering 75 billion video views across social media platforms, a 32% increase from the previous season, according to Videocites data.
This success story highlights the NBA's ability to engage a diverse audience, with Prime Video attracting a significantly younger demographic. The NBA's new media deal is proving to be a strategic move, maximizing viewership and creating new opportunities for sponsors and fans alike.
