We could be seeing the start of the end of NBA TV. This comes as the NBA prepares to launch its 2025-2026 season with blockbuster media deals involving ESPN, NBC, and Amazon, a pressing question looms: what is the future of the league’s own network, NBA TV? With cord-cutting reshaping the media landscape and new partnerships prioritizing traditional networks and streaming giants, NBA TV appears to be teetering on the edge of irrelevance, stuck in a bygone era of cable television.
The numbers paint a grim picture for NBA TV. Once a staple in 61 million homes during its peak in the early 2010s, the channel is now available in just 33.3 million households, a staggering decline reflective of broader cord-cutting trends. Viewership is equally troubling. According to sports media expert John Ourand of Puck, NBA TV’s playoff games this year averaged a mere 545,000 viewers—a fraction of ESPN’s record-setting first-round postseason audiences. While NBA TV often airs less marquee matchups, competing against ESPN and TNT, its viewership is less than one-tenth of ESPN’s, sounding alarm bells for the network’s viability.
The NBA’s new media deals further marginalize NBA TV. With ESPN, NBC, and Amazon securing exclusive national broadcasts for all playoff games, NBA TV’s role in airing postseason matchups is likely eliminated. Regular season games are also heavily allocated: Mondays on Peacock, Tuesdays on NBC and Peacock, Wednesdays on ESPN, Thursdays on Amazon, Fridays on Amazon or ESPN, Saturdays on ABC, and Sundays on NBC and Peacock. This leaves little room for NBA TV, which currently airs 96 regular season games, mostly simulcasts from local regional sports networks (RSNs). Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch notes that the new media landscape leaves NBA TV with scant inventory, potentially relegating it to a handful of Thursday night or weekend games during the football season.
League-owned networks like NBA TV, NFL Network, and MLB Network are all grappling with similar challenges: declining subscribers, shrinking inventory, and fading relevance. For NBA TV, which has broadcast games for over 22 years, the future looks like a significant downgrade. Speculation abounds about possible paths forward. Could NBA TV pivot to airing replays, classic footage, or occasional live game simulcasts? Might it transition into a digital-only channel as cable distributors question its value? One thing is clear: as the NBA embraces a streaming-centric future, NBA TV risks being left behind, a relic of the cable era struggling to find its place in a rapidly evolving media world.
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