ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, Prime Video will broadcast NBA games starting with 2025-26 season
After months of anticipation and drawn-out negotiations, the NBA has officially announced its new round of media-rights deals with Walt Disney Co., NBCUniversal (NBCU), and Amazon. Under terms of the 11-year deals, reportedly worth around $76 billion in total, ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, and Prime Video will telecast NBA games from the 2025-26 season through the 2035-36 season.
The league also announced that it had rejected Warner Bros. Discovery’s most recent proposal to match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer, creating a potential legal battle between the league and its longtime broadcast partner. WBD responded with a statement saying, “We think they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action.”
According to the league, the NBA App will serve as a universal access point by directing fans to every national game on Disney, NBCU, and Amazon platforms.
The new media deals will expand the reach of NBA telecasts, with all national games available on broadly distributed streaming services — Prime Video, Peacock, and ESPN’s forthcoming direct-to-consumer service — and with dramatically increased exposure on broadcast television. Approximately 75 regular-season games will be on broadcast TV each season, up from the minimum of 15 games under the current agreement.
“Our new global media agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal, and Amazon will maximize the reach and accessibility of NBA games for fans in the U.S. and around the world,” says NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “These partners will distribute our content across a wide range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade.”
Says ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, “We look forward to building upon our incredible legacy of innovation and growth with our longstanding partners at the NBA. The NBA is a vibrant, ascendant league, and, through this premium collection of rights, including every NBA Finals on our platforms, we will continue to evolve together while successfully navigating the global digital transition and delivering the highest-quality coverage for fans.”
Comcast Corp. President Mike Cavanagh says, “We are proud to once again partner with the NBA and WNBA, two iconic brands and the home of the best basketball in the world. We look forward to presenting our best-in-class coverage of both leagues with our innovative programming and distribution plan across NBC and Peacock to entertain fans and help grow the game.”
Says Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, “We are honored that the NBA has entrusted Prime Video to deliver its one-of-a-kind action and excitement to viewers around the world. We look forward to continuing to innovate and evolve live sports coverage for our customers and are fully committed to building an incredible video experience for millions of NBA fans, starting in 2025.”
Disney, NBCU, and Amazon also secured the right to distribute an unprecedented number of WNBA live game telecasts, with a significant increase in the reach of WNBA games across broadcast, cable, and streaming. CLICK HERE for full details regarding the WNBA’s media agreements, which are reportedly worth about $200 million per season, $2.2 billion for the full term.
More Basketball in Bristol: Disney Nabs 80-Game Slate
Disney (ABC/ESPN) will distribute a total of 80 NBA regular-season games per season, including more than 20 games on ABC (generally on Saturday nights with NBA Saturday Primetime and on Sunday afternoons with NBA Sunday Showcase) and up to 60 games on ESPN (generally on Wednesday nights and, on occasion, Friday nights). ABC/ESPN will continue to telecast all five NBA games on Christmas Day and provide exclusive national coverage of the final day of the regular season.
During the playoffs, ABC/ESPN will telecast approximately 18 games in the first two rounds each year and one of the two Conference Finals series in 10 of the 11 years of the agreement. ABC will remain the exclusive home of the NBA Finals, which it has broadcast since 2003.
All NBA games and events on ABC/ESPN will be available on ESPN’s forthcoming direct-to-consumer service. ABC/ESPN will continue to telecast the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, NBA Draft, NBA Draft Lottery, and half of all NBA Summer League games. ABC/ESPN platforms will also continue to distribute a package of WNBA and NBA G League regular-season and postseason games.
Disney will distribute NBA games on ESPN-branded assets in several international markets — Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania, the Netherlands — and via Disney+ in selected markets in Asia and Europe.
By the end of this renewal, the NBA’s partnership with ABC/ESPN will reach 34 years.
Roundball Rock Return: NBC Gets 100-Game Slate, Alternating Conference Finals
NBCU (NBC/Peacock) will distribute up to 100 NBA regular-season games per season — with more than half the games airing on NBC (on Sunday and Tuesday nights). NBCU will telecast the league’s opening-night doubleheader on NBC each year and at least two games on MLK Day on NBC and/or Peacock each season.
Peacock will stream a doubleheader each Monday night of the season. Every Tuesday night, NBC will telecast two games across certain NBC-affiliate broadcast stations in different regions of the country. The first game will start at 8 p.m. ET and be available on NBC across affiliate stations in the Eastern and Central time zones. The second game will start at 8 p.m. PT and be available on NBC affiliates across the Pacific and Mountain time zones. All Tuesday games will be available on Peacock nationally, and certain stations may choose to televise both games.
NBC will become the home of NBA All-Star, including Rising Stars, State Farm All-Star Saturday Night — featuring AT&T Slam Dunk, Starry 3-Point Contest, and Kia Skills Challenge — and the All-Star Game. NBC and/or Peacock will telecast approximately 28 games in the first two rounds of the playoffs, with at least half the games airing on NBC. NBC will also telecast one of the two Conference Finals in six of the 11 years on a rotating basis with Amazon, beginning with the 2025-26 season.
As part of the partnership, NBCU will distribute NBA games in several European markets through Sky Sports as well as in the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, NBCU will distribute WNBA games and be the home of all USA Basketball Senior Men’s and Women’s National Team games.
Xfinity will become the Official TV Service of the NBA, WNBA, and USA Basketball. The partnership includes collaboration on marketing and storytelling opportunities, virtual signage during game telecasts, and activations at marquee NBA, WNBA, and USA Basketball events.
More Growth for Prime Video: Black Friday Game, NBA Cup, In-Season Tournament
Amazon will distribute 66 NBA regular-season games on Prime Video each season, including Thursday-night doubleheaders beginning in January, Friday-evening doubleheaders, selected Saturday-afternoon games, at least one game on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), and the quarterfinals and semifinals in the Knockout Round of the Emirates NBA Cup. In addition, Prime Video will stream the Championship Game of the Emirates NBA Cup.
Prime Video will also distribute all six SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament games. In the playoffs, Prime Video will stream approximately one-third of the first and second rounds each year. Additionally, Prime Video will stream one of the two Conference Finals in six of the 11 years on a rotating basis with NBCU, beginning with the 2026-27 NBA season.
Amazon will distribute NBA games globally as part of Prime Video, with an expanded package of games in selected territories, including Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the UK, and Ireland. This expanded package includes a minimum of 20 additional primetime regular-season games each year, a Conference Finals series each year, and the NBA Finals in six of the 11 years. Prime Video will also become the NBA’s strategic partner and third-party global destination of NBA League Pass — the league’s live-game subscription service with expanded distribution rights for NBA League Pass in the U.S. and internationally. Additionally, as part of the agreement, Prime Video will stream half of all NBA Summer League games as well as a package of WNBA and NBA G League regular-season and postseason games.
WBD Is Odd Man Out, but Potential Legal Battles Remain
On Monday, WBD told the league that it would be exercising its matching rights for Amazon’s reportedly $1.8 billion bid, but the league released a statement today saying, “Warner Bros. Discovery’s most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer, and, therefore, we have entered into a long-term arrangement with Amazon.
“Throughout these negotiations,” the statement continues, “our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans. Our new arrangement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable, and streaming packages that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal arrangements. All three partners have also committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience. We are grateful to Turner Sports for its award-winning coverage of the NBA and look forward to another season of the NBA on TNT.”
TNT Sports responded with a stern statement of its own: “We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it. In doing so, they are rejecting the many fans who continue to show their unwavering support for our best-in-class coverage, delivered through the full combined reach of WBD’s video-first distribution platforms, including TNT, home to our four-decade partnership with the league, and Max, our leading streaming service. We think they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action. We look forward, however, to another great season of the NBA on TNT and Max, including our iconic Inside the NBA.”
