The NBA and WNBA Return to NBCUniversal With 11-Year Agreement For Regular Season and Playoff Basketball on NBC, Peacock, USA Network, Sky Sports and Telemundo

July 24, 2024

NBCUniversal and the NBA today announced an 11-year agreement for NBC, Peacock, USA Network, Sky Sports and Telemundo to present NBA and WNBA regular-season and playoff basketball games beginning with the 2025-26 season.

“We are excited to once again become long-term partners with the NBA and WNBA, as well as USA Basketball,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBCU Media Group. “With a unique presentation plan across NBCUniversal platforms during the regular season and postseason, as well as the midseason tentpole All-Star Game and events of All-Star Saturday, we have a strong slate that will help supercharge our overall content strategy across the portfolio.”

“The return of NBA basketball to the NBC Sports family comes with enormous benefits and excitement for our fans,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “And through its multiple platforms – especially NBC and Peacock – and its expansive resources, NBCUniversal promises to build on the deep tradition and history of the NBA on NBC.”

“Returning to NBCU at a time when momentum around the WNBA and women’s basketball has never been higher presents numerous opportunities to engage with new fans and grow the league’s core audience,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “We look forward to bringing WNBA games to NBCU’s vast audiences on its networks and platforms, which will not only help elevate the league but also enhance the storytelling of the WNBA’s incredible athletes.”

Highlights of the 11-year partnership include:

• 100 NBA national games each regular season across NBC and Peacock
• More NBA Playoff games each season on average than any other NBA media partner
• First-round playoff games presented by NBCUniversal will be exclusive in all markets (national and local)
• Approximately 50 Peacock-exclusive national regular-season and postseason NBA games, including national Monday night games and doubleheaders
• Six NBA Conference Finals series (every other year beginning with 2025-26 season)
• “NBA Tip-Off” doubleheader each season
• More than 50 WNBA regular-season and first-round playoff games each season across USA Network, Peacock, and NBC
• Three WNBA Finals series (2026, ’30, ‘34)
• WNBA Semi-Finals games in seven seasons (2026, ’28, ’30, ’31, ’32, ’34, ’36)
• NBA All-Star Game and star-studded competitions of All-Star Saturday Night each season on NBC and Peacock
• Select NBA games and every NBA All-Star Game on Telemundo
• USA Basketball men’s and women’s games
• The return of the iconic “Roundball Rock” theme music

With the new agreement, NBCUniversal will create distinctive programming windows:

NBC/Peacock NBA Sunday Nights

NBC Sports will continue its nearly two-decade tradition of premium Sunday night sports with a new Sunday Night Basketball NBA series at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, which will begin following the NFL Playoffs. NBC Sports will present a one-hour pregame show leading up to tip-off each Sunday night. NBC’s Sunday Night Football, which debuted in 2006, has been primetime’s #1 show for an unprecedented 13 consecutive years.

Peacock Monday Night NBA

Peacock will bolster its best-in-class sports lineup with approximately 50 exclusive regular-season and postseason NBA games, featuring national Monday regular-season NBA games each week and Monday night doubleheaders beginning later in the season, and exclusive playoff games.

In addition, NBCUniversal will present a pair of Monday NBA games on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January.

NBC/Peacock NBA Tuesday Nights

Each Tuesday, NBC Sports will present a unique NBA regular-season doubleheader – with start times at 8 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. PT. NBC will broadcast both games, with the 8 p.m. ET games on NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones and the 8 p.m. PT game typically on NBC stations in the Mountain and Pacific time zones. Peacock will stream both games live.

NBC Sports will be the home of the first games each NBA season with an opening night Tuesday doubleheader on NBC and Peacock.

WNBA Regular-Season and Playoffs

Each year, NBCUniversal will showcase at least 50 WNBA games in the regular season and early postseason. NBC will broadcast five of those games, with USA Network and Peacock splitting the balance.

Deeper into the postseason, NBCUniversal will present three WNBA Finals series and games from seven WNBA Semi-Finals series over the 11 years.

Team USA Men’s and Women’s Basketball

With this agreement, NBCUniversal also acquires the rights to Team USA Men’s and Women’s games leading into the Olympics in 2028, ’32, and ’36, as well as women’s pre-FIBA World Cup games (’26, ’30, and ’34) and men’s pre-FIBA World Cup games (’27, ’31 and ’35), the majority of which will be exclusive to Peacock. In addition, NBC Sports will present the Nike Hoop Summit, featuring men’s and women’s international all-star games for players 19 years old and younger, which will be televised on USA Network each April, beginning in 2025.

Telemundo Deportes Coverage

Telemundo Deportes, the U.S. destination for the biggest global sporting events in Spanish-language, will present 10 games each season -- including the All-Star Game -- which will also stream on Peacock.

Sky Sports

Sky Sports, in all of its markets, will distribute all of NBCUniversal’s NBA and WNBA games.

Xfinity Partnership

Xfinity becomes a marketing partner in the “Video” category with USA Basketball, NBA, and the WNBA.

NBC Sports was the home of the NBA from 1990-2002, presenting the four most-watched NBA Finals series in People Meter history – all victories by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls (1998, 1993, 1997, and 1996). Before then, NBC broadcast NBA games from 1954-62. NBC Sports presented the WNBA from 1997-2002, with coverage of the WNBA Finals and championship game in each of those years.