What changed in the 2025-26 NBA broadcast deal?

TNT lost the NBA. NBC/Peacock took the Tuesday and Sunday-afternoon national windows. Amazon Prime Video added a Thursday package plus some weekend slots. ESPN/ABC kept Wednesday doubleheaders, Christmas Day, NBA Finals, and most playoff coverage. Local games stay on team RSNs as before.

Do I still need cable for the NBA in 2026?

No. Cable's only role in the NBA used to be TNT, and TNT no longer carries it. Every national NBA game now lives on ESPN/ABC, NBC/Peacock, or Amazon Prime Video. Local games stream via RSN DTC apps or vMVPDs.

Is NBA League Pass worth it?

It depends on your market. If you're out-of-market for your favorite team, League Pass at $15.99/mo or $99.99/season is the cheapest path to nearly every regular-season game. If you're in-market, League Pass blacks out your local team's games. You need the RSN instead.

Does YouTube TV carry NBA RSNs?

Mostly no. YouTube TV does not carry the FanDuel Sports Network family that holds most NBA team rights. They do carry MSG (Knicks), NBC Sports networks (Warriors, Sixers, Wizards), and a handful of others. Verify carriage for your specific team's RSN before subscribing.

What's the cheapest stack for an out-of-market NBA fan?

NBA League Pass ($15.99/mo) + Peacock ($7.99/mo) + ESPN+ ($11.99/mo) + Prime Video ($14.99/mo) = ~$50/mo for every regular-season game plus all national windows. Cancel League Pass once playoffs start since the postseason is exclusively on ESPN/ABC and TNT-successor networks.

When are the NBA Finals and which service?

ESPN/ABC retained NBA Finals rights through 2034-35. Every Finals game airs on ABC over the air, free with an antenna. The full playoff bracket needs an antenna + ESPN access. No RSN, no League Pass. Local rights end at the start of the postseason.

Guide

The cheapest way to watch the NBA in 2026

The 2025-26 rights deal reshaped the NBA broadcast map. Here's the cheapest legal stack for the new lineup of ESPN/ABC, NBC/Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, and your RSN.

Last reviewed May 13, 2026 · ~7 min read

What's the cheapest way to watch the NBA in 2026?

The new NBA deal splits national games across ESPN/ABC, NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video. Local games still live on your team's RSN. Cheapest stacks: in-market fans need an RSN path + Peacock + ESPN access ($55 to $110 a month). Out-of-market fans drop the RSN and use NBA League Pass + Peacock + ESPN+ + Prime ($35 to $50 a month). The cable era, when TNT carried everything, is over.

Step by step

Identify your team's RSN. Most NBA teams sit on the FanDuel Sports Network family (former Bally Sports). Major exceptions: Knicks/MSG, Warriors/NBC Sports Bay Area, Sixers/NBC Sports Philadelphia, Lakers/Spectrum SportsNet.
Choose your RSN delivery path. Cheapest: the RSN's DTC app (MSG+, NBC Sports apps, FanDuel Sports Network+). Broader: a vMVPD that carries your RSN. FuboTV and DirecTV Stream have the widest FanDuel Sports Network coverage in 2026.
Add Peacock for NBC/Peacock games. From 2025-26 onward NBC and Peacock carry a major share of national NBA windows including Tuesday-night games and Sunday-afternoon doubleheaders. Peacock Premium $7.99/mo.
Add ESPN access for ESPN/ABC games. ESPN and ABC kept the Wednesday-night doubleheader, Christmas Day, NBA Finals, and major Playoffs windows. ESPN+ standalone $11.99/mo, or any vMVPD with ESPN.
Add Amazon Prime Video for the Thursday Prime package. Amazon picked up a Thursday-night NBA package starting 2025-26 plus some weekend windows. Prime Video $14.99/mo (often bundled with Amazon Prime household memberships).
Only add NBA League Pass if you're out-of-market. League Pass blacks out your home-market team. Useful if you follow a second team in another market or want every game from around the league.

Quick FAQ

What changed in the 2025-26 NBA broadcast deal?: TNT lost the NBA. NBC/Peacock took the Tuesday and Sunday-afternoon national windows. Amazon Prime Video added a Thursday package plus some weekend slots. ESPN/ABC kept Wednesday doubleheaders, Christmas Day, NBA Finals, and most playoff coverage. Local games stay on team RSNs as before.
Do I still need cable for the NBA in 2026?: No. Cable's only role in the NBA used to be TNT, and TNT no longer carries it. Every national NBA game now lives on ESPN/ABC, NBC/Peacock, or Amazon Prime Video. Local games stream via RSN DTC apps or vMVPDs.
Is NBA League Pass worth it?: It depends on your market. If you're out-of-market for your favorite team, League Pass at $15.99/mo or $99.99/season is the cheapest path to nearly every regular-season game. If you're in-market, League Pass blacks out your local team's games. You need the RSN instead.
Does YouTube TV carry NBA RSNs?: Mostly no. YouTube TV does not carry the FanDuel Sports Network family that holds most NBA team rights. They do carry MSG (Knicks), NBC Sports networks (Warriors, Sixers, Wizards), and a handful of others. Verify carriage for your specific team's RSN before subscribing.
What's the cheapest stack for an out-of-market NBA fan?: NBA League Pass ($15.99/mo) + Peacock ($7.99/mo) + ESPN+ ($11.99/mo) + Prime Video ($14.99/mo) = ~$50/mo for every regular-season game plus all national windows. Cancel League Pass once playoffs start since the postseason is exclusively on ESPN/ABC and TNT-successor networks.
When are the NBA Finals and which service?: ESPN/ABC retained NBA Finals rights through 2034-35. Every Finals game airs on ABC over the air, free with an antenna. The full playoff bracket needs an antenna + ESPN access. No RSN, no League Pass. Local rights end at the start of the postseason.

Sources

The 2025-26 NBA broadcast map

The NBA's prior decade ran on a simple two-network split: ESPN/ABC for most marquee national windows and TNT for the Tuesday-night doubleheader plus a chunk of the playoffs. That deal expired after the 2024-25 season. The new rights map is more fragmented:

ESPN/ABC:Wednesday national doubleheader, Christmas Day, NBA Finals, most playoffs.
NBC/Peacock:Tuesday national prime-time, Sunday-afternoon doubleheaders.
Amazon Prime Video:Thursday-night package, select weekend windows.
Team RSNs:all local-market games, unchanged.
NBA League Pass:every out-of-market game, blacked out in your home DMA.

That's three national-rights holders, plus your RSN, plus the out-of-market workaround. Most fans need at least three of those.

In-market: the RSN decides your stack

If your ZIP is inside the broadcast footprint of your team's RSN, NBA League Pass will black out your team's games. The RSN is your backbone.

The major RSN families for NBA:

FanDuel Sports Network (formerly Bally Sports):Hawks, Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Pacers, Heat, Bucks, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Thunder, Magic, Suns, Spurs, plus most NHL and several MLB. DTC at $19.99/mo single-team.
MSG: Knicks, Nets (Gotham Sports app). $9.99/mo, or via vMVPDs that carry MSG.
NBC Sports Bay Area / Philadelphia / Boston / Washington:Warriors, Sixers, Celtics, Wizards. Carriage via vMVPDs varies by ZIP.
Spectrum SportsNet:Lakers. Largely a Spectrum cable exclusive in LA market. Limited streaming options.
Altitude:Nuggets. Mostly cable-exclusive but Altitude Now streaming app available regionally.

Once the RSN is sorted, layer on the national-window services: Peacock ($7.99), ESPN+ or vMVPD ($11.99), Prime Video ($14.99). A one-team in-market fan totals roughly $55–$110/month depending on RSN path.

Out-of-market: drop the RSN, embrace League Pass

Out-of-market fans get the cheaper path. NBA League Pass at $15.99/mo or $99.99/season ($14.99 with Amazon Prime promo) delivers every regular-season game from every team, except yours if you're somehow in-market. For a fan rooting for a team in another city, that's nearly the entire regular season covered.

Add Peacock ($7.99) + ESPN+ ($11.99) + Prime Video ($14.99) for the national windows that League Pass doesn't carry. Total around $50/month for nearly the entire NBA. No RSN, no vMVPD, no cable.

The postseason resets to national-only: ESPN/ABC, TNT-successor networks (now TBS/TruTV via the post-2025 deal), and NBC/Peacock. You can cancel League Pass when playoffs start and lean on the national stack.

Per-team archetypes and their cheapest stacks

Lakers fan in LA:Spectrum SportsNet (Spectrum cable or limited streaming) + ESPN+ + Peacock + Prime. RSN is the hardest part. Non-cable options are limited.
Lakers fan in Boston:NBA League Pass + Peacock + ESPN+ + Prime. ~$50/mo. Drop League Pass during playoffs.
Knicks fan in NYC:Gotham Sports (MSG, $9.99) + Peacock + ESPN+ + Prime. ~$45/mo.
Warriors fan in SF:NBC Sports Bay Area (via vMVPD or NBC Sports app where available) + Peacock + ESPN+ + Prime. ~$70-100/mo depending on path.
Multi-team household, in-market:vMVPD with your RSN ($75–$90) + Peacock + Prime. ~$110/mo, covers everything including news and broadcast.

The Spot Sports watch-cost calculator resolves these archetypes against your specific ZIP and team list so you don't have to compare carriage maps manually.

Common NBA cord-cutting mistakes

Buying League Pass when you're in-market

The most common $15.99/month waste. League Pass markets itself aggressively to all fans but blacks out home-market teams. Verify your DMA before subscribing.

Picking YouTube TV without checking RSN carriage

YouTube TV is the most popular vMVPD but carries almost no FanDuel Sports Network channels. If your team is on a former Bally Sports network, YouTube TV will not show their local games. FuboTV or DirecTV Stream are better default picks for NBA households in those markets.

Subscribing to TNT-network packages out of habit

TNT no longer holds NBA rights as of 2025-26. Subscribing to a vMVPD package specifically for "TNT NBA" no longer delivers what it used to. The new TBS/TruTV NBA package is for playoffs only.

How to watch a specific NBA team

Per-team breakdowns with the cheapest in-market and out-of-market stack for that team:

See the full list at the NBA watch hub or the basketball sport hub.

Build your stack in 60 seconds

Drop in your teams and your ZIP and Spot Sports returns the cheapest legal stack for your slate. RSN routing, blackout flags, and streamer add-ons all factored in.

See your watch cost