How To Watch The NBA In 2026-27: Channels, Streaming & Prices

The 2026-27 NBA season tipped off on Oct. 20, and if you’re wondering where to find your team’s next game, the short answer is this: national games are split across three streaming homes. Peacock has every NBC game, the ESPN app has every ABC and ESPN game, and Prime Video has every Amazon game. Everything else that isn’t on national TV or your local channel lives on NBA League Pass. Below is the night-by-night schedule, what each service costs, and how to pick the cheapest setup for the way you watch.

This is the second year of the league’s 11-year media deals with Disney (ABC/ESPN), NBCUniversal (NBC/Peacock) and Amazon (Prime Video), according to NBA.com’s official viewing guide. The first year worked for the league: NBA.com says the 2025-26 regular season drew 170 million viewers, its most in 24 years.

Which night is on which channel?

The NBA has settled into a fairly predictable weekly rhythm. Here’s the general pattern for national games this season, per NBA.com:

Monday: Peacock (also shown on NBCSN)
Tuesday: NBC and Peacock
Wednesday: ESPN
Thursday: Prime Video (starting in January)
Friday: Prime Video, plus ESPN doubleheaders starting in January
Saturday: Prime Video afternoon games (starting midseason) and ABC at night
Sunday: ABC in the afternoon and NBC/Peacock at night (both starting midseason)

A tip worth knowing: the NBA’s “Tap to Watch” feature in the NBA App and on NBA.com links each game straight to wherever it’s streaming, and you can add the schedule to your phone’s calendar through nba.ecal.com with those links built in.

NBC and Peacock: 100 games

NBC and Peacock carry 100 regular-season games this season. NBC Sports’ schedule announcement lays out three regular nights:

Peacock NBA Monday starts Oct. 26, with up to two games most Monday nights through April 5. These games are exclusive to Peacock and also air on NBCSN, not on regular NBC.
Coast 2 Coast Tuesday starts Oct. 27, with doubleheaders on NBC and Peacock. Most weeks, NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones get an 8 p.m. ET game and stations out west get an 8 p.m. PT game. Both stream nationwide on Peacock.
Sunday Night Basketball begins Jan. 24, 2027, and runs through April 4, with seven doubleheaders.

NBC also has the “Holiday Hoops” games from Dec. 21 to 29, quadrupleheaders on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents’ Day, and NBA All-Star Weekend (Feb. 19 to 21, 2027) in Phoenix. Telemundo will show 10 Sunday Night Basketball games and the All-Star Game in Spanish.

Every NBC game streams on Peacock, so if you’ve cut the cord, Peacock is the only subscription you need for this slice of the schedule.

ABC and ESPN: 80 games plus the Finals

ABC and ESPN, now in their 25th straight season with the NBA, will air 80 regular-season games. That includes the five-game Christmas Day slate and a Thanksgiving Eve tripleheader on Nov. 25. According to the ESPN Press Room, ESPN has Wednesday night games all season and Friday night doubleheaders from January through March. On ABC, NBA Saturday Primetime starts Dec. 12, and NBA Sunday Showcase runs on Sunday afternoons in February and March.

ESPN is also the exclusive home of the 2027 NBA Finals on ABC and the Western Conference Finals. NBA.com says every ABC and ESPN game is available on ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streaming service.

Prime Video: 66 games, the NBA Cup and the Play-In

Amazon’s second NBA season includes 66 regular-season games. Fridays are the main night now, with Thursday doubleheaders and select Saturday afternoon games added in January and February. NBA.com’s full Prime Video schedule lists Friday NBA Cup group-play doubleheaders from Oct. 30 through Black Friday on Nov. 27.

Prime Video is exclusive for the NBA Cup knockout rounds, including the championship game on Dec. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. It also has the Paris and Manchester games in January, all six Play-In Tournament games, and the 2027 Eastern Conference Finals.

NBA League Pass: everything else, with a big catch

League Pass shows games that aren’t on national TV and aren’t in your local market. That last part matters. The NBA’s own blackout rules, summarized by Price Bug Alerts, mean that in the U.S. League Pass won’t show your local team live, or any game on ESPN, ABC, NBC, Peacock or Prime Video. Blacked-out local games show up as replays three days later, and national games become available at 6 a.m. ET the next day.

So League Pass is best for fans who follow a team in another city. If you live in your team’s market, you’ll usually watch its non-national games on the regional sports network or team-run service that carries it locally.

How much does it cost to stream the NBA in 2026-27?

These are the standard U.S. list prices before tax as reported in October 2026 by Price Bug Alerts and NBA.com. Prices can change, so check before you sign up.

Peacock Premium (with ads): $12.99 a month or $129.99 a year. Peacock Premium Plus is $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year. Peacock also offers eligible college students 12 months at $6.99 a month.
ESPN Unlimited: $31.99 a month or $319.99 a year. The Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Unlimited bundle starts at $35.99 a month.
Prime Video: included with a Prime membership, $14.99 a month or $139 a year.
NBA League Pass: $109.99 a season or $16.99 a month (one device, with commercials). League Pass Premium, with no commercials and up to three devices, is $159.99 a season or $24.99 a month.
NBA Team Pass (one out-of-market team): $13.99 a month. NBA TV only: $8.99 a month.

Buying all four at full monthly prices adds up to roughly $77 a month, so most fans are better off picking only what they need.

How to choose the cheapest setup

If you mostly watch your local team

Start with whatever carries your team’s local games, then add national services only for the stretch of the season you care about. Monthly plans can be canceled at any time, so you can add ESPN for the Finals and drop it afterward.

If you follow a team in another city

Team Pass at $13.99 a month is cheaper than full League Pass if you only care about one team. Remember, though, that its national games will still be on Peacock, ESPN or Prime.

If you already have Prime

You already have 66 games, the NBA Cup knockouts, the Play-In and the Eastern Conference Finals at no extra cost.

If you have cable or satellite

Check whether your TV provider already includes ESPN. ESPN says subscribers who get it through a TV or mobile provider can activate ESPN Unlimited at no extra cost.

Watching on a smart TV? It’s worth a few minutes to turn off your TV’s viewing tracking before a season of streaming. For the bigger picture of how sports moved from cable to apps, see our look at sports broadcasting on TV vs. streaming, and for what’s changing on the court, read how advanced analytics is changing sports strategies.

FAQ

Can I watch every NBA game with one subscription?

No. National games are split among Peacock, ESPN and Prime Video, and League Pass blacks out both national and local games in the U.S.

Are Monday NBA games on regular NBC?

No. Peacock NBA Monday games are exclusive to Peacock and also air on NBCSN, per NBC Sports.

Where can I watch the 2027 NBA Finals?

The Finals air on ABC and stream through ESPN’s service. The Eastern Conference Finals are on Prime Video, and the Western Conference Finals are on ESPN platforms.