The NBA is taking NBA TV into its own hands.
The league on Monday rolled out a slate of live games and basketball programming that will power its reimagined NBA streaming app, as well as its cable channel NBA TV. The news is significant because the league has not had operational control of NBA TV or its streaming business since 2008, with Warner Bros. Discovery (and before that WarnerMedia and Time Warner) operating the business for the league.
Of course, the NBA’s new TV deals left WBD mostly on the outside, and earlier this summer the company acknowledged that it would hand control of NBA TV and the NBA app back to the league for the upcoming 2025-2026 season.
NBA TV will have 60 exclusive regular season games, beginning Oct. 25 when the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder visits the Atlanta Hawks, as well as games from the WNBA and the NBA’s development league The G League.
There will also be a new flagship show called The Association, featuring hosts and contributors like MJ Acosta-Ruiz, David Fizdale, Rudy Gay, Chris Haynes and John Wall, among others. The Association effectively replaces NBA Gametime Live, which had been the flagship show produced by TNT Sports for the channel.
It will also televise international games from Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL), France’s Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), Spain’s Liga ACB, the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and Korean Basketball League (KBL).
“NBA TV and the NBA App are designed to be a connected, global hub for basketball coverage, delivering nonstop access to live games, original programming and exclusive behind-the-scenes content,” said NBA senior VP and head of NBA app Sara Zuckert. “The NBA App streaming platform will provide a seamless, always-on digital experience for fans to access 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
The channel and app will also add basketball podcasts, like The Athletic’s NBA Daily, Thinking Basketball, No Ceilings and The NBA Front Office Show, as well as creator content from social media stars with a focus on sports, as well as docuseries like Real Training Camp, and Loud City: The OKC Thunder’s Championship Season.
