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NBA'S RETURN TO NBC SPORTS IS A VIEWERSHIP TRIUMPH
Led by Sunday Night Basketball and Coast 2 Coast Tuesday, Regular-Season Viewership on NBC/Peacock Averages 2.8 Million Viewers, Up 109% vs. Comparable Windows Last Year
Sunday Night Basketball Averages 3.4 Million Viewers, Most-Watched Sunday NBA Package in 13 Years; Coast 2 Coast Tuesday Averages 2.6 Million Viewers, Up 99% From Last Season's Tuesday Night Games
Sunday Night's Basketball Night in America is Most-Watched NBA Pregame Program in 15 Years
NBC Sports' Live Coverage of the NBA Playoffs Begin Sunday
STAMFORD, Conn. - April 14, 2026 - In its first season presenting the NBA in 24 years, NBC Sports combined new approaches and technical innovations with Hall of Fame and award winning voices, along with a splash of nostalgia, to drive a 109% year-over-year increase in NBA regular season viewership, led by Sunday Night Basketball and Coast 2 Coast Tuesday. During the 2025-26 regular season across NBC and Peacock - as well as Telemundo for select games - NBC Sports delivered NBA viewership milestones for marquee franchises Sunday Night Basketball and Coast 2 Coast Tuesday, as well as tentpole events such as the NBA All Star Game, NBA Tip Off, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Viewership highlights include:
· The combined viewership for NBC Sports' NBA coverage for games on NBC/Peacock on Sunday and Tuesday nights - plus five Monday games - averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 2.8 million viewers, up 109% vs. comparable coverage last season.
· Sunday Night Basketball averaged 3.4 million viewers this season, making it the most-watched Sunday NBA package in 13 years (excluding Christmas Day games) as well as the most-watched NBA window since the 2015-16 season.
· Coast 2 Coast Tuesday averaged 2.6 million viewers, up 99% vs. the comparable games last year.
· Sunday night's studio show - Basketball Night in America - averaged 1.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched NBA pregame program in 15 years.
· The NBA is helping to deliver a younger, more diverse audience to Peacock, with nine out of 10 watching other entertainment titles on the platform.
"As we began the NBA's return to NBC Sports for the first time in 24 years this fall, our focus was on elevating the viewing experience -- leaning into the energy of the arenas, blending new and familiar voices, and introducing streaming innovations while honoring our legacy of NBA coverage," said NBC Sports President Rick Cordella. "These viewership results validate that approach and are a testament to the work of our incredible teams across NBC Sports and Peacock, along with the caliber of competition the NBA and its teams deliver night in and night out."
SUNDAY NIGHT BASKETBALL
Sunday Night Basketball averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 3.4 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo, marking the best Sunday NBA average (daytime or primetime) for a network in 13 years (excluding Christmas Day) as well as the most-watched NBA window since the 2015-16 season. The 3.4 million viewers is up 16% vs. last season's Saturday night primetime NBA games on other networks.
The debut of Sunday Night Basketball on Feb. 1, featuring Lakers at Knicks, averaged 4.5 million viewers on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo, becoming the most-watched regular-season Sunday night NBA game since 2002 (excluding Christmas Day), the most-watched regular-season Sunday game since 2018, and the most-watched game of the regular season across all networks (excluding Tip-Off and Christmas). These marks were soon exceeded by Celtics-Lakers on Feb. 22, which averaged a TAD of 5.6 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo.
The second game of the SNB doubleheader on April 5, featuring Rockets-Warriors, averaged 3.1 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo, becoming the most-watched regular-season Sunday late primetime game on record.
COAST 2 COAST TUESDAY
Coast 2 Coast Tuesday averaged a TAD of 2.6 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, up 99% from last season's Tuesday night NBA games. The most-watched Coast 2 Coast Tuesday featured Celtics-Spurs and Timberwolves-Lakers on March 10, which combined to average 3.6 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.
Most Watched Games, 2025-26 Season, NBC Sunday Night Basketball and Coast 2 Coast Tuesday packages
Game, Date Avg. Viewers
1. Houston Rockets-Oklahoma City Thunder, 10/21/25
- 5.9 million**#
2. Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers, 2/22/26
- 5.6 million*
3. Golden State Warriors-Los Angeles Lakers, 10/21/25
- 5.1 million**#
4. Los Angeles Lakers-New York Knicks, 2/1/26
- 4.5 million*
5. Los Angeles Lakers-Dallas Mavericks, 4/5/26
- 3.7 million*
6. Boston Celtics-San Antonio Spurs/Minnesota Timberwolves-Los Angeles Lakers, 3/10/26
- 3.6 million**
7. New York Knicks-Oklahoma City Thunder, 3/29/26
- 3.4 million*
8. Philadelphia 76ers-Boston Celtics, 3/1/26
- 3.2 million*
9. New York Knicks-Boston Celtics/Oklahoma City Thunder-Golden State Warriors, 12/2/25
- 3.2 million**
10. Houston Rockets-San Antonio Spurs, 3/8/26
- 3.2 million*
*Viewership across NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, NBC Sports Digital
**Viewership across NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital
#NBA Tip-Off
NBA TIP-OFF
NBC Sports' NBA coverage began with a record-setting night with NBA Tip-Off on Oct. 21, which featured the first opening night double overtime game in 20 years (Rockets-Thunder) and delivered the largest NBA Tip-Off doubleheader audience since 2010 (excluding 2011 opening games on Christmas holiday) with an average of 5.6 million viewers across NBC and Peacock. Warriors-Lakers, the second game of the night, averaged 5.1 million viewers across NBC and Peacock. That night's Average Minute Audience (AMA) on Peacock and NBC Sports Digital was 1.0 million viewers, based on data from Adobe Analytics, marking NBC Sports' largest simulstream audience ever, excluding NFL and Olympics.
2026 NBA ALL-STAR
This season also saw NBC Sports' first presentation of the NBA All-Star Game since 2002. Bolstered by a revitalized "USA vs. The World" format, the 2026 edition of the game delivered the largest NBA All-Star audience since 2011, averaging 8.8 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo and topping last year's viewership by 87% (4.7 million viewers). Viewership peaked at 9.8 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. ET for the closing minutes of the USA Stripes' 48-45 victory over World.
BASKETBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA
Basketball Night in America, NBC Sports' weekly on-site studio show ahead of Sunday Night Basketball, averaged a TAD of 1.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched regularly-airing NBA pregame show since TNT's NBA pregame show during the 2010-11 season.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY
NBC Sports' presentation of Mavericks-Knicks (2.2 million viewers) and Thunder-Cavaliers (1.8 million viewers) on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19 were the most-watched MLK Day afternoon NBA games since at least 1992.
HOW TO WATCH THE NBA PLAYOFFS ON NBC, PEACOCK, AND NBCSN
The NBA postseason returns to NBC for the first time since 2002 and makes its debut on Peacock this Sunday, April 19, beginning with a star-studded doubleheader featuring two-time NBA All-Star Cade Cunningham and the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons hosting the East's No. 8 seed at 6:30 p.m. ET and followed by two-time NBA All-Star Victor Wembanyama, in his playoff debut, and the Western Conference's No. 2 seed San Antonio Spurs hosting the No. 7 seed at 9 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. NBC Sports will present up to 41 games of live coverage throughout the First Round and Conference Semifinals, as well as exclusive coverage of the entire Western Conference Finals.
--NBA ON NBC AND PEACOCK--
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