The NBA continues to grow its broadcast television presence in year two of its new media rights deal.
The newly-released 2026-27 NBA regular season schedule includes a record 71 regular season windows on broadcast television, up from 62 last season and a new record for the league.
Among pro sports leagues, the number of NBA regular season windows on broadcast television is second only to the NFL (94). Major League Baseball is scheduled for 48 windows on broadcast TV during its ongoing regular season and the WNBA 39. Save for the NFL, which has always had a pronounced broadcast TV presence, all of the preceding figures are dramatic increases over four or five years ago.
The increase is due to the addition of 11 more windows on the NBC broadcast network, which is set for a total of 50, up from 39 last year. ABC is actually carrying two fewer windows (21) than a year ago (23).
The uptick in NBC games is balanced by a reduction in games airing exclusively on Peacock (and NBCSN), with that total shrinking from 44 last year to 31 this season. Currently, NBCU is scheduled for slightly fewer games this season (81) than last (83), though keep in mind that the company utilized flex scheduling last year to add a number of windows that had not been originally previously scheduled.
For now, the percentage of national games on broadcast television this season has increased from 27% a year ago (62 of 230) to 31% (71 of 228).
The expanded NBC schedule includes a third Opening Night game, a new Presidents Day tripleheader, and five additional “Sunday Night Basketball” games. The Sunday night series will now consist of 16 games across nine dates, up from 11 games on eight dates last year. Coverage will begin during the NFL playoffs, with Thunder-Warriors on January 24 and Rockets-Mavericks on January 31 airing opposite the NFL Divisional Round and AFC Championship Game respectively.
Starting February 7, all of the remaining Sunday night dates will feature doubleheaders. There were only three Sunday night doubleheaders on NBC last season.
ABC will begin its regular season slate before Christmas with Knicks-Heat on “NBA Saturday Primetime” December 12, the lightest Saturday of the football season. The network was unable to carry a game on that Saturday last year, as it coincided with the NBA Cup knockout round that is now exclusive to Amazon.
In addition to simulcasting all five Christmas Day games for a fourth time in five years, ABC is scheduled to carry a quadrupleheader on January 30 — marking the first time outside of Christmas that a single broadcast network has aired four NBA games in a single day. The four-game slate opens with Sixers-Heat at 12:30 PM ET, followed by Nuggets-Thunder at 3:00, Spurs-Warriors at 5:30 and Lakers-Knicks at 8:30.
With ABC airing the Super Bowl for the first time since 2006, there will be no Super Bowl Sunday game on the network, or any national NBA partner, this year. After going dark on Oscars Sunday for most of the past two decades, ABC is set to air a doubleheader on that day — March 14 — for the first time since 2007, albeit in a special early time. Knicks-Celtics is set for Noon and Spurs-Thunder for 2:30.
The season includes 80 total windows across ESPN/ABC, the same as last year. ESPN is set for 59 (excluding the Christmas games that are simulcast on ABC), two more than last year, including a rare Sunday afternoon doubleheader on Easter Sunday (Knicks-Magic and Lakers-Rockets).
Prime Video has 67 windows (60 excluding the NBA Cup knockout round), the same as last year. That includes a rare nationally televised game on New Year’s Eve (Nuggets-Timberwolves) leading into its “Thursday Night Football” coverage.
