How cord-cutters can watch the NBA season with out cable

TNT’s future as an NBA broadcaster has ended, ushering in a brand new period of media rights that may reshape how followers watch the league. Beginning with the 2025–26 season, the NBA’s nationwide package deal is cut up amongst three companions: Disney (ABC/ESPN), NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video. Which means cord-cutters nonetheless have loads of choices to observe marquee video games, however holding monitor of which platform carries which contest will take extra effort than prior to now.

NBC/Peacock will current as much as 100 regular-season video games, highlighted by Tuesday night time regional doubleheaders and a brand new Sunday-night showcase launching in January. Each sport NBC airs will even stream reside on Peacock, which can add its personal unique Monday night time video games to the schedule.

Amazon Prime Video has carved out a complementary package deal that features 66 regular-season video games, each Play-In Match matchup, choose first- and second-round playoff video games, and in sure years a share of the Convention Finals. Prime Video additionally holds unique rights to the Emirates NBA Cup knockout rounds, including additional weight to its midseason protection.

Regional sports activities networks (RSNs) stay the hardest piece of the puzzle. These native channels nonetheless carry nearly all of NBA video games, but many—corresponding to Fox Sports activities, NBC Sports activities RSNs, YES Community, and Marquee Sports activities Community—are absent from the preferred streaming companies attributable to unresolved carriage disputes.

RSNs are much more necessary now with the Emirates NBA Cup, the league’s midseason match. Group play begins October 31 and the knockout rounds wrap up on December 16, with most video games nonetheless proven on every workforce’s native community alongside chosen nationwide broadcasts.

Whether or not you need to chase the Cup or just observe your own home workforce, the very best method is to discover a service that carries your RSN and pair it with one of many nationwide platforms. A handful of groups nonetheless have over-the-air preparations, however these are more and more uncommon.

Right here’s a information to all of your 2025–26 choices when the season suggestions off on October 21.

Over the air

The excellent news is you’ll be able to entry ABC at no cost you probably have an over-the-air TV antenna (you’ll discover our prime antenna picks right here) and are throughout the radius of your native ABC affiliate’s broadcast tower. The unhealthy information is the community is scheduled to air solely about two dozen of this 12 months’s nationally televised video games. These, nevertheless, embrace among the league’s marquee matchups, together with 5 Christmas Day video games.

You may watch the remaining video games with some mixture of the next companies.

Streaming service choices

Sling TV

Sling TV stays a versatile choice for catching nationally televised NBA video games. The Orange plan prices $45.99/month and contains ESPN and ESPN2, with NBA TV accessible by means of the Sports activities Further add-on for $11. New subscribers usually get the primary month at a reduced fee (round ~$23). Sling has additionally rolled out a $4.99 Day Move, which offers 24-hour entry to its Orange channels, and you’ll add Sports activities Further to that go as nicely.

DirectTV Stream

You will get ESPN, ESPN2, and and NBA TV through DirectTV Stream‘s Alternative plan for $89.99 per thirty days. RSN availability varies by location, so that you’ll must enter your ZIP code throughout signup to see precisely which regional networks (if any) your package deal will carry.

DirecTV Stream additionally contains your native NBC affiliate in most markets, so that you’ll be capable to catch NBC’s share of nationwide NBA broadcasts, corresponding to Tuesday doubleheaders and the Sunday-night showcase. However, as with different reside TV companies, you’ll nonetheless want a separate Peacock subscription to stream Peacock-exclusive Monday night time video games.

Hulu + Dwell TV and YouTube TV

Each Hulu + Dwell TV and YouTube TV provide you with entry to ABC and ESPN/ESPN2 for a flat charge, however solely YouTube TV affords NBA TV, giving it the sting for hoop heads. Hulu + Dwell TV prices $82.99 a month with advertisements or $95.99 a month with the No Adverts plan (reside broadcasts nonetheless carry commercials both means) and contains Hulu’s on-demand library, Disney+, and ESPN Choose. YouTube TV fees $82.99 a month, discounted to $49.99 a month for the primary two months.

Each companies carry your native NBC affiliate in most markets, which suggests you’ll be capable to watch NBC’s slate of nationwide NBA broadcasts, together with Tuesday doubleheaders and the brand new Sunday-night showcase. Nevertheless, you’ll want a separate subscription to catch Peacock-exclusive Monday night time video games.

With simply the one base channel package deal for every of those companies, you don’t get the customizability of Sling TV or DirecTV Stream, so hold that in thoughts if you happen to plan to make use of your subscription past basketball season.

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FuboTV

FuboTV affords ABC and ESPN in its $79.99-per-month Professional package deal, and also you get $20 off the primary month. This package deal additionally contains the regional sports activities networks NBC Sports activities Bay Space and NBC Sports activities California, which is nice information if you happen to’re a fan of the Kings, Warriors, Lakers, or Clippers. You may add NBA TV by buying the Sports activities Lite add-on for an extra $9.99 a month.

FuboTV additionally carries native NBC associates in most markets, so that you’ll be capable to see NBC’s Tuesday night time doubleheaders and Sunday-night showcase video games. However as with different companies, Peacock-exclusive Monday night time video games aren’t included.

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Peacock

Peacock is now vital for NBA followers beneath the league’s new media rights deal. A subscription prices $10.99 a month for the Premium plan or $16.99 a month for Premium Plus (with lighter advertisements and additional options). Peacock streams each NBA sport that airs on NBC; plus, a package deal of unique Monday-night video games. It should additionally carry NBC’s Tuesday night time doubleheaders and the brand new Sunday-night showcase starting in January, making it the one standalone service that delivers such a big share of the nationwide schedule.

ESPN

ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service launched this previous summer season, giving followers their first probability to observe the community’s full slate of video games with out a cable or reside TV bundle. The service affords two tiers: Choose, at $11.99 a month (or $119.99 a 12 months) folds within the former ESPN+ library; Limitless, at $29.99 a month (or $299.99 a 12 months), provides reside entry to ESPN’s full lineup of channels together with ESPN on ABC broadcasts. Present ESPN+ subscribers have been migrated to the Choose tier robotically. A launch bundle additionally affords Limitless with Disney+ and Hulu for $29.99 a month for the primary 12 months. For NBA followers, which means each ESPN-televised sport is now accessible as a standalone streaming choice.

Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video has additionally grow to be a central participant within the NBA’s new media panorama. A subscription to Amazon Prime, which incorporates Prime Video, prices $14.99 a month or $139 a 12 months (Prime Video by itself is on the market for $8.99 a month). Below its 11-year settlement with the NBA, Prime Video will stream 66 regular-season video games, together with marquee Friday-night matchups and, starting in January, Thursday-night doubleheaders as soon as the NFL season wraps. It additionally holds unique rights to all Play-In Match video games, the knockout rounds of the NBA Cup, and chosen first- and second-round playoff contests, in addition to a rotating share of the Convention Finals.

NBA League Move

When you’re really hardcore for the hardwood, it is best to contemplate a subscription to NBA League Move, the league’s official streaming service. For $109.99 a 12 months or $16.99 per thirty days, you’ll be able to watch each reside out-of-market sport that isn’t being broadcast nationally on one of many 4 networks we’ve talked about.

A League Move subscription permits you to watch each sport feed (residence, away, cell view, plus further languages and digital camera angles) in your TV, laptop, pill, and smartphone. Video games can be found three hours after completion within the video archives. You additionally get anytime entry to a curated collection of “basic” video games.

For $159.99 a 12 months or $24.99 per thirty days, you’ll be able to improve to NBA League Move Premium, which lets you stream a sport on three units without delay and watch all video games industrial free.

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NBA Crew Move

That’s an enormous funding if you happen to solely need to observe your favourite workforce. NBA Crew Move is a less-expensive various. For $89.99 a 12 months, you get entry to all of your squad’s native broadcasts for each residence and away video games.

The rub is that NBA blackout guidelines nonetheless apply. When you reside in your workforce’s “residence” market—a Warriors fan residing within the San Francisco Bay Space, for instance—you continue to received’t be capable to watch their video games even with a Crew Move subscription (this goes for League Move as nicely). Your workforce’s residence market, nevertheless, isn’t essentially outlined by your city’s metropolis limits.

Within the NBA’s personal phrases, the league determines blackout zones “utilizing zip code (if watching through a satellite tv for pc tv supplier), a mixture of zip code and cable system distribution territory (if watching through a cable tv supplier), or by the IP tackle related along with your web connection or your cell system’s GPS coordinates.”

Which means this isn’t a cord-cutting choice for everybody. You may see which groups will not be accessible in your space within the blackout part on this web page while you select your subscription.

NBA streaming continues to be 50-50 ball

Streaming reside NBA video games continues to be a blended bag for cord-cutters. The provision of nationwide broadcasts by means of streaming companies offers you a courtside seat for among the greatest matchups of the season. However native fanbases who need to observe their workforce proceed to be left on the bench, for probably the most half. Till streaming choices for regional sports activities networks grow to be extra broadly accessible, you would possibly need to mud off your radio.