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It's Not You. NBA Streaming Is a Mess

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After the flood of nostalgia from hearing Roundball Rock on the first NBA on NBC broadcast in more than two decades receded, NBA fans were likely left with a mix of confusion and frustration over the first 10 days of the season. There are more national broadcasts this year, but finding them is harder than it should be.

This season, it's no longer as simple as flipping on the TV and searching two or three channels to find the game. To watch every national NBA game this season requires three separate streaming services. Life is hard enough; watching sports shouldn't increase this feeling.

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The 2025-26 season marks the first under the NBA's new media-rights deal, which will end the NBA on TNT era and bring games back to NBC. It also pushes the NBA into the streaming era with games appearing on Peacock and Prime Video each week of the season, as well as ESPN's new direct-to-consumer streaming service.

Here's what you need to know about the new NBA media landscape and where to find which games on which nights on which streaming services.

Victor Wembanyama has quickly become a must-watch talent, but figuring out how to watch or stream San Antonio Spurs games this season feels harder than it should be. Justin Casterline/Getty Images

The NBA's new broadcast partners

This season is the first in the new 11-year deal between the NBA and its three media partners: Disney (ABC/ESPN), NBCUniversal (NBC/Peacock) and Amazon (Prime Video). There will be 247 national broadcasts across this trio this season, which far outpaces last season's 172 national games.

Last year, you just needed a single live TV streaming service like Sling or YouTube TV that had ABC, ESPN and TNT for the national broadcasts each week of the season. Now, with exclusive Peacock games and the Prime Video slate, that one-streamer convenience is as outdated as the midrange jumpshot.

Here's the breakdown of the national broadcasts:

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