The NBA is off to an impressive start in 2026, witnessing an 18% increase in viewership compared to the same timeframe last season. This surge can be attributed to a combination of factors, including more televised games on broadcast networks and a particularly successful Christmas schedule, all thanks to the newly established media rights agreement. So far, matches aired on ABC, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video have averaged around 2.02 million viewers, marking a significant improvement over the figures from ABC/ESPN and TNT/truTV at the beginning of 2025. However, if we factor in the nonexclusive games shown on NBA TV, the average dips closer to 1.8 million.
When we analyze the regional game broadcasts, it becomes evident that 17 out of 29 U.S. teams have experienced year-over-year growth in their viewership numbers. It's worth noting that many of these franchises are currently partnered with Main Street Sports Group, which has recently struggled to meet its Regional Sports Network (RSN) payment obligations to several teams.
NBC made a strong entry into the season with its package launched on October 21, achieving the best NBA Tip-Off doubleheader ratings in the last 15 years. Following this, the Coast 2 Coast Tuesday programming, primarily focusing on regional games, debuted on October 28. The Knicks versus Celtics matchup on December 2 attracted the largest pre-Christmas audience for a Tuesday NBA game since 1996, with NBC averaging an impressive 2.9 million viewers across all Tuesday games—an 87% increase compared to the same prime-time slot from the previous season. While NBC has opted not to share specific viewer statistics for games aired on Peacock during Monday night slots, it’s likely that those figures fall short of what linear television previously achieved.
Meanwhile, ESPN and ABC have reported a 30% increase in viewership for the current season, despite offering fewer games on cable television this year as part of the newly negotiated media deal. Currently, these networks are averaging 2.53 million viewers, a figure that includes the popular Christmas games along with various midweek and weekend matchups aired on ESPN.
Prime Video is also making its mark in its inaugural NBA season, averaging about 1.2 million viewers per game. When comparing similar time slots to last season, Amazon's performance is notably steady, showing only a slight decline of 3% from national network averages in those windows last year. Notably, among younger audiences, viewership has increased significantly—with adults aged 18 to 34 up by 13%, those aged 18 to 49 up by 20%, and viewers aged 25 to 54 rising by 17%. The standout game for Prime Video thus far has been the Knicks-Spurs Emirates NBA Cup Final, which drew in 3.1 million viewers.
Similar to its experience with NFL games and NASCAR broadcasts, Prime Video's NBA audience skews much younger than traditional linear television. The median age of NBA viewers on Prime Video is 46.6 years, nearly eight years younger than the median age of viewers tuning into NBA games on linear television, which stands at 54.5 this season.
In total, the NBA has attracted an astounding 115 million individuals in the U.S. to watch national games this season, setting a record for this point in the season since tracking began in 2002. Overall viewership across NBC/Peacock, ESPN/ABC, Prime Video, and NBA TV has surged by 85% compared to the same period last year. Additionally, the NBA has amassed an impressive 75 billion video views on various social media platforms, reflecting a 32% increase from the previous season, according to data sourced from Videocites.
