NBA Expands Broadcast TV Footprint: ABC and NBC to Air 90 Games in 2026-27 Season
The NBA is putting more basketball on free-to-air television. ABC and NBC will carry a combined 90 games during the 2026-27 regular season, up from 79 a year ago — an extra 11 games handed to the two broadcast networks (The Hollywood Reporter).
In total, the expanded broadcast slate adds up to more than 270 hours of over-the-air TV programming, according to The Hollywood Reporter. NBCUniversal and Disney, which owns ABC, are together giving the NBA another 33 hours of broadcast television compared with last season. That figure climbs higher once the playoffs are included.
The league had reason to push for more. NBA broadcast ratings were up last season, and the league wants to keep that momentum going, The Hollywood Reporter reports.
The full national picture is even broader. Across ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock and Amazon's Prime Video, the NBA will distribute 247 national games in 2026-27 — level with last year and up from 172 two seasons ago (Yahoo Sports). NBC Sports alone will carry 100 games across NBC, its streaming service Peacock, and the cable channel NBCSN (NBCUniversal).
The NBA's official 2026-27 regular-season schedule, announced on 13 August, lays out the game plans for all three broadcast and streaming partners: Disney, NBCUniversal and Prime Video (NBA.com).
Specific matchups are already locked in. Detroit at New York tips off on Tuesday, 27 October at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock (NBA.com). Week 13 brings Chicago vs. Indiana on 4 January, followed by Minnesota vs. Houston and Phoenix vs. Denver on 5 January — all on NBC and Peacock (NBA.com).
For viewers, the practical effect is straightforward: more NBA games available without a cable or streaming subscription, assuming you have an antenna. The league has also published a viewing guide on NBA.com covering how to watch games from the season opener through the NBA Finals (NBA.com).
The broadcast expansion arrives in the first season of the NBA's new media-rights cycle, which brought NBC back into the pro basketball fold alongside Disney and Prime Video. More games on free TV means more households in the measurement — and for the league's partners, more hours of live programming that audiences tend to watch in real time.
