NBA’s New TV Deal Boosts Ratings to 7-Year High
Industry data show the NBA, under its new TV deal, boosted ratings to a seven-year high. Nielsen Big Data + Panel estimates put the season average at 1.78 million viewers per game. That is a 16% increase from last season’s 1.53 million.
Overall ratings and highlights
Return to NBC after a 24-year absence drove a significant portion of the gains. The league averaged about 250,000 additional impressions per game versus the year before.
Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals drew 16.4 million viewers. The All-Star Game reached 8.8 million across platforms, including 6.73 million on NBC.
NBC’s impact and marquee windows
NBC Sports averaged 2.8 million viewers across NBC and Peacock. That represents a 109% increase versus comparable telecasts in 2024-25.
Sunday Night Basketball averaged 3.4 million viewers. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday averaged 2.6 million viewers, a 99% lift.
The season opened on Oct. 21 with a doubleheader averaging 5.61 million viewers. The Rockets-Thunder telecast on NBC averaged 5.1 million linear impressions, plus 754,000 on Peacock.
Other NBC highlights included a Feb. 22 Celtics-Lakers game that averaged 4.52 million viewers. Simulcasts on Peacock and Telemundo raised that total to 5.6 million.
The midseason “USA vs. the World” format produced the largest audience for a scrimmage since 2011.
Rights fees, distribution and reach
The 11-year, $76 billion rights package began its first season under multiple partners. NBC agreed to an average fee near $2.45 billion per season for its package.
Disney pays about $2.6 billion per season, the highest among partners. Amazon pays roughly $1.8 billion per year for its rights.
| Network/Platform | Approximate Annual Fee |
|---|---|
| NBC (flagship + Peacock) | $2.45 billion |
| Disney (ABC/ESPN) | $2.6 billion |
| Amazon Prime Video | $1.8 billion |
NBC added more than 50 over-the-air broadcasts. That expanded the NBA’s reach by over 20 million homes.
Affiliate coverage for NBC is estimated at 67%. That translates to about 85.8 million U.S. television households. Traditional and vMVPD pay-TV platforms now cover roughly 64.8 million homes.
Nielsen’s recent currency upgrade also boosted measured viewership for linear channels, including NBC.
Platform-by-platform performance
Across the combined NBC/Peacock, Disney ABC/ESPN and Amazon Prime Video packages, the season averaged 1.78 million viewers per game.
ABC’s per-game average fell 14% to 2.3 million. ESPN increased deliveries by 6% to 1.4 million per game.
Disney’s five-game Christmas Day slate averaged 5.5 million viewers, the best average since 2018. The 2:30 p.m. Spurs-Thunder game drew 6.7 million viewers.
Amazon Prime and audience demographics
NBA on Prime averaged about 1 million viewers across 67 U.S. games. Prime’s top telecast was the Dec. 16 NBA Cup Championship, which averaged 3.07 million viewers.
The median age for Prime’s NBA viewers was 46.9 years. That is 9.1 years younger than the league’s linear TV audience, which averaged 56 years.
In 53 comparable windows, Prime grew adults 18-34 by 11% and adults 18-49 by 20%. Prime viewers had a higher median household income: $96,800 compared with $83,600 for linear TV viewers.
Context and market reaction
Some financial analysts have argued basketball’s cultural influence is waning. Filmogaz.com notes the season’s ratings gains challenge that viewpoint.
The mix of expanded over-the-air distribution and streaming partnerships helped the NBA widen its audience. The new TV deal appears to have boosted ratings and household reach.
