NBA’s $76 Billion New Media Deals Completed: Here’s What Happens

It’s time to start playing Round ball rock. After months of intense speculation, the NBA’s new media rights deal has been finalized. As expected, Comcast’s NBC and Peacock and Amazon’s Prime Video will join Disney’s ABC and ESPN as television and streaming partners for national NBA games beginning in the 2025-26 season.

The new deals are valid for a period of 11 years and are expected to have a total value of $76 billionIt’s unclear whether TNT, which currently airs NBA games, will exercise a reported matching rights clause in its existing TV deal to retain any of the three packages.

Here’s what you need to know.

Where can I watch the NBA for the 2024-2025 season?

The NBA has long aired games on ESPN, ABC and TNT, and that’s not expected to change for the upcoming season. The new media deals that have been in the news will begin with the 2025-26 NBA season.

While it’s not entirely clear what will happen with the in-season tournament for 2024-25 (ESPN and TNT split the games last year), you can expect to be able to watch NBA games nationally next season just like last season.

Can I stream the NBA this upcoming season?

Yes, the NBA’s domestic games will be available to stream. Just like last year, you can expect to be able to watch games on streaming TV services like YouTube TV, DirecTV, Sling TV and the upcoming Venu Sports (a sports-focused streaming service jointly owned by Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox), as well as on Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max, which has been streaming TNT games.

Whether Max will charge for the NBA this coming season, however, remains to be seen. It was previously said that it was planning to charge extra for live sports, but so far the step has been postponed repeatedly.

What’s happening to TNT’s Inside the NBA?

This too remains unclear. With TNT losing its NBA rights, it appears the end is nigh for the Inside the NBA studio show and its long, celebrated and award-winning run. Host Ernie Johnson has is said to have said he doesn’t want to leave the network (where he also covers MLB and March Madness) and star Charles Barkley has already said he will retire after next seasonIt’s unclear what Inside the NBA’s fellow stars Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal plan to do next or whether any version of the show will continue on another network or streamer.

Who will take over the NBA rights from 2025-2026?

The NBA will continue to broadcast games on ABC and ESPN, while TNT is currently pulling out and being replaced by Amazon’s Prime Video, NBC and Peacock.

Is TNT officially out?

That appears to be the case. Because of that potential matching language in its existing media deal, Warner Bros. Discovery had a chance to match the new deals and retain the NBA. In a statement released Wednesday, the NBA said it had rejected Warner Bros. Discovery’s proposal.

“Warner Bros. Discovery’s most recent offer did not align with the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer and as a result, we have entered into a long-term agreement with Amazon,” the league said in a statement.

“Throughout these negotiations, our primary goal was to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games to our fans. Our new agreement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming packages already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal agreements. All three partners have also committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience.”

When will games be broadcast on which new platform?

Here’s a look at how things stand under the new NBA media deal.

NBC/Peacock:

Under the new deal, NBC and Peacock will air 100 NBA regular-season games each year, with “more than half” of those games airing on NBC on Sunday and Tuesday nights. NBC will also air the NBA’s opening night doubleheader and “at least two games on MLK Day on NBC and/or Peacock each season.”

Since NBC airs Sunday Night Football during the NFL season, NBA games begin on Sunday nights after the NFL playoffs.

Peacock (which also allows streaming from NBC stations) will stream dual games every Monday night of the regular season, with “two games on select NBC stations in various regions of the country” on Tuesday nights. According to the league, the first game will air at 8 p.m. ET and be available on NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, while the second game will air at 8 p.m. PT and be available to those in the Pacific and Mountain time zones.

NBC will also carry the NBA All-Star game and surrounding All-Star weekend events. During the playoffs, NBC/Peacock will have “approximately 28 games in the first two rounds of the playoffs, with at least half of those games airing on NBC.” NBC will also have six Conference Finals, which will rotate annually with Amazon. NBC/Peacock will have its first conference finals under this new deal in 2025-26.

And yes, NBC has confirmed that it is bringing back the iconic theme song, “Roundball Rock.”

ABC/ESPN

Disney properties get 80 regular-season games each year, with “more than 20 games on ABC.” ABC games air on Saturdays or Sundays, while ESPN continues to air games on Wednesdays and “sometimes” on Friday nights. All five Christmas Day games air on ABC/ESPN.

For the playoffs, the Disney Companies will “air 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 broadcaster of the NBA Finals, and ABC/ESPN will continue to host the NBA Draft, Draft Lottery and other events such as the All-Star Celebrity Game and half of the Summer League games.

The NBA says the ABC/ESPN games will also be available on ESPN’s upcoming streaming service.

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon gets 66 regular-season games for Prime Video each year, including an opening week doubleheader, Friday night games, “select Saturday afternoon games” and Thursday night doubleheaders, the latter of which kicks off in January after Amazon finishes airing the NFL and Thursday Night Football.

Amazon will also host “at least” one Black Friday game each year, the quarterfinals and semifinals of the knockout stage of the NBA regular season tournament (the “Emirates NBA Cup”), and the championship game of the tournament.

For the playoffs, Prime Video will have all six play-in games and stream “approximately one-third of the first and second rounds” each season. As noted above, it will have a conference finals with NBC/Peacock each year, with Prime Video’s first conference finals scheduled for the 2026-27 season.

In addition to its gaming offerings, the NBA will partner with Amazon as part of the new deal. This will make Amazon’s Prime Video channels the new option for third-party providers to sign up for NBA League Pass, the league’s service for streaming games from outside its home market.

Previously, NBA League Pass was sold on several platforms, including Amazon’s Prime Video Channels, as well as through other digital storefronts like Roku, YouTube and Verizon’s Plus Play.

How much will these new competition fees cost?

Disney is reportedly set to pay $2.6 billion a year for its game package, NBC $2.5 billion and Amazon $1.8 billion.