How to stream the 2025-26 NBA season

TNT’s long tenure as NBA broadcaster has come to an end, ushering in a new era of media rights that will reshape how fans watch the league. Beginning with the 2025–26 season, the NBA’s national package was split between three partners: Disney (ABC/ESPN), NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video. This means that cord cutters still have plenty of options for watching notable games, but keeping track of which platform is holding which contest will require more effort than in the past.

NBC/Peacock will present up to 100 regular-season games, highlighted by the two Tuesday night regional games and the launch of a new Sunday night show in January. Every game broadcast on NBC will also be streamed live on Peacock, which will add its exclusive Monday night games to the schedule.

Amazon Prime Video has put together a supplemental package that includes 66 regular season games, every Play-In Tournament game, select first and second round playoff games, and in certain years a share of the Conference Finals. Prime Video also has exclusive rights to the knockout rounds of the NBA Cup, adding additional weight to its midseason coverage.

Regional Sports Networks (RSNs) remain the hardest piece of the puzzle. These local channels still carry the majority of NBA games, yet many of them — such as Fox Sports, NBC Sports RSNs, YES Network, and Marquee Sports Network — are absent from more popular streaming services due to unresolved carriage disputes.

RSNs are even more important now with the UAE Basketball League Cup, the league’s mid-season tournament. Group play begins on October 31 and the knockout rounds end on December 16, with most matches continuing to be shown on each team’s local network alongside selected national broadcasts.

Whether you want to follow the Cup or simply follow your local team, the best way is to find a service that carries your RSN and pair it with one of the national platforms. A few teams still have over-the-air arrangements, but these are becoming increasingly rare.

Here’s a guide to all your options for 2025-26 when the season ends on October 21.

Above the air

The good news is that you can access ABC for free if you have an over-the-air TV antenna (you’ll find our top antenna picks here) and are located within the radius of your local ABC affiliate’s broadcast tower. The bad news is that the network is scheduled to broadcast only about two dozen nationally televised games this year. However, these do include some notable fixtures in the league, including five games on Christmas Day.

You can watch the remaining matches with a range of the following services.

Streaming service options

Sling TV

Sling TV It remains a flexible option for watching nationally televised NBA games. The Orange plan costs $45.99 per month and includes ESPN and ESPN2, with NBA TV available through the Sports Extra add-on for $11. New subscribers often get their first month at a discounted price (~$23 approx.). Sling has also rolled out a $4.99 Day Pass, which provides 24-hour access to its Orange channels, and you can add Sports Extra to that pass as well.

Live TV

You can get ESPN, ESPN2, and NBA TV via Live TVChoice plan $89.99 per month. RSN availability varies by location, so you’ll need to enter your zip code during registration to see exactly which regional networks (if any) your package will carry.

DirecTV Stream also includes your local NBC affiliate in most markets, so you’ll be able to get NBC’s share of national NBA broadcasts, like the Tuesday doubleheader and Sunday night show. But, as with other live TV services, you’ll still need a separate Peacock subscription to stream Peacock-exclusive Monday night games.

Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV

Both Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV It gives you access to ABC and ESPN/ESPN2 for a flat fee, but only YouTube TV offers NBA TV, which gives it a heads-up. Hulu + Live TV costs $82.99 per month with ads or $95.99 per month with the No Ads plan (the live stream still carries commercials either way) and includes the Hulu on-demand library, Disney+, and ESPN Select. YouTube TV charges $82.99 per month, discounted to $49.99 per month for the first two months.

Both services carry your local NBC affiliate in most markets, which means you’ll be able to watch NBC’s slate of national NBA broadcasts, including a dual Tuesday broadcast and a new Sunday night show. However, you will need a separate subscription to enjoy Peacock’s exclusive Monday night matches.

With only one basic channel package for each of these services, you won’t get the ability to customize Sling TV or DirecTV Stream, so keep that in mind if you plan to use your subscription after basketball season.

FuboTV

FuboTV ABC and ESPN are offered in the Pro plan, which is $79.99 per month, and you’ll get $20 off your first month. This package also includes regional sports networks NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California, which is great news if you’re a Kings, Warriors, Lakers, or Clippers fan. You can add NBA TV by purchasing the Sports Lite add-on for an additional $9.99 per month.

FuboTV also carries local NBC affiliates in most markets, so you’ll be able to watch NBC’s Tuesday night doubleheaders and Sunday night exhibition games. But as with other services, Peacock-exclusive Monday night games are not included.

peacock

Peacock is now a must-have for NBA fans under the league’s new media rights deal. The subscription costs $10.99 per month for the Premium plan or $16.99 per month for the Premium Plus plan (with lighter ads and additional features). Peacock streams every NBA game broadcast on NBC; Plus a host of exclusive games on Monday night. It will also carry NBC’s dual Tuesday night shows and a new Sunday night show starting in January, making it the only independent service to carry such a large share of the national schedule.

espn

ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service launched last summer, giving fans their first chance to watch the network’s full slate of games without a cable or live TV package. The service offers two levels: choose, Priced at $11.99 per month (or $119.99 per year) it folds into the previous ESPN+ library; Unlimited, priced at $29.99 per month (or $299.99 per year), adds live access to the full ESPN channel lineup plus ESPN on ABC broadcasts. Existing ESPN+ subscribers have been automatically migrated to the selection tier. The launch package also offers Unlimited with Disney+ and Hulu for $29.99 per month for the first year. For NBA fans, this means that every game televised on ESPN is now available as a standalone streaming option.

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video has also become a major player in the NBA’s new media landscape. An Amazon Prime subscription, which includes Prime Video, costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year (Prime Video itself is available for $8.99 per month). Under its 11-year deal with the NBA, Prime Video will broadcast 66 regular-season games, including big games on Friday night, and starting in January, it will air doubleheaders on Thursday night once the NFL season ends. It also has exclusive rights to AAll Play-In Tournament games, the NBA Cup Knockout Rounds, select first and second round playoff contests, plus a rotating share of the Conference Finals.

NBA Pass

If you are a true fan of hardwood, you should consider subscribing to it NBA Passthe league’s official streaming service. For $109.99 per year or $16.99 per month, you can watch every live out-of-market game that isn’t broadcast nationally on one of the four networks we mentioned.

A League Pass subscription lets you watch every match broadcast (home, away, mobile view, plus additional languages ​​and camera angles) on your TV, computer, tablet and smartphone. Games are available three hours after completion in the video archives. You can also access at any time a selection of ‘classic’ games.

For $159.99 per year or $24.99 per month, you can upgrade to NBA League Pass PremiumWhich enables you to stream a game on three devices simultaneously and watch all commercial games for free.

NBA team pass

This is a great investment if you just want to follow your favorite team. NBA team pass It is a less expensive alternative. For $89.99 per year, you can access all of your team’s local broadcasts for both home and away games.

The problem is that the NBA’s blackout rules are still in effect. If you live in your team’s “home” market — a Warriors fan based in the San Francisco Bay Area, for example — you won’t be able to watch their games even with a Team Pass subscription (this applies to League Pass, too). However, your team’s local market is not necessarily defined by your city limits.

In the NBA’s words, the league defines blackout zones “using a zip code (if watching via a satellite TV provider), a combination of a zip code and a cable system distribution area (if watching via a cable TV provider), or by the IP address associated with your Internet connection or the GPS coordinates of your mobile device.”

This means that this is not a cord-cutting option for everyone. You can see which bands are not available in your area in the blackout section On this page When you choose your subscription.

NBA flow is still 50-50 ball

Live streaming of NBA games is still a mixed bag for cord cutters. The availability of national broadcasts through streaming services gives you a seat on the field for some of the biggest games of the season. But local fanbases who want to follow their team are still left on the bench, for the most part. Until streaming options for regional sports networks become more widely available, you may want to dust off your radio.