The NBA's first season under its $76 billion media rights package delivered $2.11 billion in advertising revenue, a 38% jump from the $1.53 billion generated in 2024-25. The $580 million increase came almost entirely from higher CPMs driven by expanded broadcast reach, not audience growth, average viewership rose just 16% to 1.78 million.
Broadcast television carries the load
The league swapped cable-exclusive games for over-the-air windows. NBC aired 39 regular-season games and ABC 23, up from 24 total broadcast games the prior year. That shift puts NBA games in 84 million households via NBC and ABC affiliates, a 35% reach advantage over the 62.2 million homes still on pay-TV bundles and virtual MVPDs. Next season expands to 71 broadcast games, 50 on NBC, 21 on ABC, meaning nearly one-third of national regular-season windows will air on free TV.
Streaming goes from rounding error to real money
Prime Video and Peacock turned streaming from a $10 million afterthought into an $874 million revenue stream. Exclusive streaming games generated $527 million, or 60% of the digital total, with simulcasts adding $347 million. Linear spend still fell 19% to $1.24 billion, but the pie grew enough that ABC/ESPN captured $824.5 million (39% share), NBC Sports took $782.2 million, and Prime Video booked $507.4 million in its debut season. TNT, which held rights the previous year, had generated $642.6 million.
The Finals math is quietly absurd
A five-game Knicks championship generated $256.1 million in Finals ad sales, up 39% from the prior year's five-game Pacers-Thunder series. The previous Finals had two extra games but produced only $1.4 million more in total revenue, a rounding error that suggests inventory volume matters less than the matchup. Prime Video's audience skewed nearly a decade younger than linear telecasts, median age 46.9 versus 56, replicating the pattern from its NFL Thursday Night Football package.