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NBA regular season delivers most viewers in 24 years
May 22 2026 07:34 · By The Associated Press · 2 Reads
Here’s how to level up your postseason like never before in the NBA App.
NEW YORK (AP)
— The numbers are in, and
the NBA
says Year 1 of its new television deals were a hit.
The league released numbers for the regular season on Wednesday, showing that 170 million people in the U.S. watched NBA games across the league’s four primary broadcast platforms this year — those being ABC/ESPN,
Amazon Prime Video
, NBC/Peacock, and NBA TV.
170 million people in the U.S. watched NBA games across ABC/ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, NBC/Peacock and NBA TV during the regular season – the most in 24 years and up 86% vs. last season.
pic.twitter.com/iXGUISQQIT
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR)
April 15, 2026
Those numbers are the league’s best in 24 years, the NBA said, plus represented an 86% rise over last season.
Prime Video was part of the league’s television rights package for the first time this season and NBC/Peacock returned for the first time in a generation. The league signed a new 11-year, $76 billion-plus media rights deal in 2024 to show games on those two platforms along with ABC/ESPN and NBA TV.
Those deals kicked in at the start of this season.
Other highlights of the viewership numbers:
NBA games across ABC/ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, NBC/Peacock and NBA TV had the highest average viewership in 13 years, up 35% over last season.
A total of 57 telecasts this season reached an average of 2 million viewers, the most since the 2011-12 season.
People watched NBA games for more than 920 million hours, up 25% over last season and the most since 2011-12.
The NBA’s social media channels generated a record 228 billion views this season, according to Videocites. That’s up 13% over last season.
Attendance over the past three seasons in NBA arenas is higher than any three-season span in league history.
Viewership for NBA Cup group play games was up 90% from last season.
The audience for the All-Star Game on NBC, averaging 8.8 million viewers, was the largest for the league’s midseason showcase event since 2011.
The NBA postseason tipped off Tuesday with the
SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament
. The
2026 NBA Playoffs
begin on Saturday, April 18.