NEW YORK — The National Basketball Association reported a significant increase in television and digital audience figures for the 2025–26 regular season on Wednesday, saying that 170 million people in the United States watched games across its four primary broadcast platforms.
The NBA said viewership across ABC, ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, NBC, Peacock and NBA TV reached its highest level in 24 years and increased 86% compared with the previous season.
The league attributed the growth to its new 11-year media rights agreements, which began this season and include Amazon Prime Video and NBC/Peacock returning to NBA broadcasts alongside existing partners.
The NBA reported additional viewership benchmarks across multiple categories. It said average game audiences across its main broadcast partners rose 35% year over year and reached the highest level in 13 years.
The league said 57 broadcasts averaged at least 2 million viewers, the most since the 2011–12 season. It also reported that fans watched more than 920 million total hours of NBA game content, the highest total since 2011–12 and a 25% increase from the previous season.
The NBA said its digital footprint also grew, with its social media platforms generating a record 228 billion views, according to analytics firm Videocites, representing a 13% increase.
The league reported higher attendance across arenas over the past three seasons than any comparable period in its history. It also said NBA Cup group-stage games increased 90% in viewership compared with the previous season.
The All-Star Game broadcast on NBC averaged 8.8 million viewers, marking the event’s highest audience since 2011.