Impressive audience figures for the first month of the NBA: How many fans have tuned in so far to the 2025 season?
A huge number of people have tuned in to the current NBA season.
The NBA has kicked off its 2025-26 regular season with a powerful uptick in viewership. According to league figures, more than 60 million Americans tuned into national broadcasts across NBC/Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, and ESPN during the first month, marking the strongest opening-month audience in 15 years.
Still, the early performance is being celebrated as a very encouraging indicator, especially as it coincides with the start of the NBA’s new 11-year, $76 billion media-rights agreement with its broadcast partners, who will be delighted.
A major part of the early surge came from the league’s long-awaited return to NBC, which broadcast its first NBA games since 2002 on opening night. The network’s doubleheader drew a combined 5.6 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, representing an eye-catching 90 per cent jump compared with last season’s opening slate on TNT.
The shift to streaming platforms is also proving effective. Prime Video has aired its first NBA games of the season, generating 1.25 million viewers, which is a 13 per cent increase on the same matchups broadcast on ESPN a year earlier.
Across social media platforms, NBA content has also racked up over 30 billion views, a new high at this point in a season.
Merchandise sales on NBAStore.com are up more than 20 per cent, while subscription services are reaping benefits as well. League Pass has seen a 10 per cent increase in new subscribers, and the time users spend watching through the platform is up by 8 per cent.
In-arena attendance also remains a hugely impressive number. The league reports that so far this season, about 97 per cent of seating capacity is being filled on average, matching last season’s totals. All of Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz all have 100 per cent home attendance records this season.
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A similarly striking phenomenon can be observed in Major League Baseball, where the sport maintains a remarkably strong foothold in local markets. In fact, in 2022, 22 of the 29 U.S.-based MLB teams had their local telecasts out-rate every other cable primetime show in their region, and in some cases even topped major broadcast networks. Sport is here to stay.
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