How To Get the NBA on TV: Every Channel and Streaming Service You Need

The 2025–2026 NBA season is making a huge shift. TNT is out of the picture, but NBC (including Peacock) and Amazon are now in. This change means that the broadcasting and streaming landscape is more fragmented than we’ve ever seen it. For a lot of fans who just want to see their favorite team on the court, this can easily become frustrating.

No single service covers the full season, and key games are split across platforms, so I’ve researched the new 2025–2026 broadcast schedule to help you find exactly where your team is playing.

Here's a full breakdown of what's streaming, where, and when.

NBA fans are dealing with an entirely new broadcast landscape for the 2025–2026 season, as the longtime ESPN/TNT era comes to an end. The game-watching rotation is now split between three partners: ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video.

ABC and ESPN carry 80 regular-season games, with ESPN handling Wednesday and Friday nights and ABC taking Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons — some starting mid-season. In its 24th season of NBA coverage, ABC/ESPN covers Christmas Day games and a significant portion of the playoffs. In the first two rounds, roughly 18 games are covered by ABC/ESPN. The network remains the exclusive platform for the NBA Finals.

NBC hasn’t seen the NBA since 2002 but is now partnering with Peacock to host 100 regular-season games. That is the most out of all broadcasting services, so if you’re looking for quantity, Peacock may be your best bet. Starting strong, NBC is showing the Opening Night doubleheader, approximately 28 games in the first two playoff rounds, and becoming the home base for the NBA All-Star Weekend. As the cherry on top, Michael Jordan will join as a special contributor, with Peacock's Monday night exclusives adding an 'On The Bench' courtside analyst for each team.

Amazon Prime Video broadcasts 66 regular-season games, the least of the three networks, but there’s a catch — you can’t access these games on any other platform, including other cable or streaming packages. Prime is the only broadcaster for all six games of the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament, about a third of the first two rounds of playoff games, and is the exclusive home of all Emirates NBA Cup Knockout Round games, culminating in the Championship Game on December 16 in Las Vegas.

With games being split across so many platforms and changing from day to day, it can be easy to get lost in the mix. To help make things easy and clear, I created the cheat sheet below.

If you're checking this midseason, note that Thursday (Amazon Prime) and Friday (ESPN) games are midseason additions.

Instead of signing up with a cable provider for the NBA season, you can still access games through three streaming services:

• Peacock
• Amazon Prime Video
• ESPN Unlimited

You won’t find everything from a single provider. It’s important to know your options so you don’t sign up for the wrong service and miss your favorite team going against their rival. Keep reading for a breakdown of each streaming service, including what it costs, what it covers, and what it misses.

Peacock is your go-to for Monday exclusives, Tuesday simulcasts, and Sunday Night Basketball, which begins February 1. With 100 games being covered this season, Peacock is the heaviest hitter when it comes to streaming volume.

Peacock has several tiers, including ad-supported and ad-free options. (Peacock’s cheapest plan, Select, does not offer live sports.)

There’s good news for Xfinity subscribers: You might already have access to Peacock! Check with Xfinity to link your account and activate your Premium Peacock account.

Another way to get Peacock is in a bundle with Apple TV for access to both platforms for slightly more than the cost of one subscription. There are two bundle options — one ad-supported and one ad-free.

Fans who want to watch Monday night games at all will need a subscription to Peacock Premium or Premium Plus, as these games are exclusive to Peacock.

Thursday nights, Friday nights, Saturday afternoons, and the full Play-In Tournament are completely exclusive to Amazon Prime — and there is no workaround through cable or other streaming services.

Fortunately, Prime Video is included with an Amazon Prime subscription, so for fans who already use the platform for shopping, you get NBA access this season at no additional cost. For readers who aren’t currently subscribed to Amazon Prime, you have a few options.

Amazon has additional pricing options for young adults, individuals on government assistance, and students to keep things accessible. For additional pricing, check out Amazon’s pricing page.

For out-of-market regular-season games, you can purchase NBA League Pass through Amazon Prime Video or through the NBA app. Both League Passes offer streaming for every single out-of-market game in the 2025–2026 season, but the premium option allows for additional devices to stream and even goes ad-free.

If Thursday nights, Saturday afternoons, out-of-market games, or the Play-in Tournament are on your must-watch list this season, having Prime Video is a non-negotiable.

Before now, watching live ESPN games required a cable subscription or login. ESPN Unlimited changes that, letting you stream ESPN and ABC games directly without cable.

ESPN Unlimited covers all Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sunday afternoons, making it a great option for important games.

ESPN Unlimited bundles with Disney+ and Hulu at a discounted rate, which is a great deal if you already stream either platform regularly. You can also bundle ESPN Unlimited with Hulu + Live TV, which is a worthy package for subscribers who want the added value of a full live TV package. YouTube TV subscribers will also have access to ESPN Unlimited sometime around the end of 2026.

It’s important to remember that Disney+ alone has no NBA content. You must have ESPN Unlimited to access the games associated with the service.