As the NBA enters the 2025-26 season with new broadcasters in NBCUniversal and Amazon Prime Video, the league has also fully taken over operations of its NBA TV channel, previously run in conjunction with TNT Sports. It’s using the change as a chance to rethink the NBA App offering, too, adding to its 24/7 hub for basketball conversation.
A new weeknight show, The Association, will serve as the flagship program for NBA TV, featuring live game look-ins, highlights and discussion from analysts including MJ Acosta-Ruiz, David Fizdale, Rudy Gay, Chris Haynes and John Wall. The show—based in an LA studio with some contributors appearing remotely—will also be available for free in the NBA app across devices. It debuts on Oct. 15, with the NBA season starting Oct. 21.
“The goal of the show is to be able to tell fans what’s going on throughout the night and navigate them to the games going on across all of the channels, be it on NBA TV or League Pass, or on any of our national partners as well,” said NBA SVP and head of NBA App Sara Zuckert. ”We’re really thinking about the show as a new, reimagined way to learn about the NBA.”
NBA TV will also carry 60 regular-season games, beginning Oct. 25 when the Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Atlanta Hawks. The Association will air before and after games NBA TV broadcasts. Those games will also be available on local networks. NBA TV had 107 such contests in 2024-25.
Fans can continue viewing NBA TV via cable providers. It is currently broadcast to roughly 33 million homes, about half as many as its peak more than a decade ago. League-owned networks have struggled to maintain premier placement in live TV bundles as they negotiate alone rather than as part of a larger entertainment conglomerate. NBA TV is available directly for $9/month or $75/year. It also comes included in the NBA League Pass streaming service, which starts at $110/season.
The NBA App and NBA TV will show more than just NBA games. The platforms will also carry pro basketball from Australia, China, France, Germany, Spain and South Korea as well as top U.S. high school competitions and G League contests.
“We know that a lot of our fans want to learn about basketball, not only in the NBA, but wherever players are,” Zuckert said. “And so we are creating the global home of basketball—all things basketball.”
The league has increasingly focused on growing its international connections, including with a European league that could begin play in 2027.
At other times, the league-owned station will syndicate shows such as The Athletic’s NBA Daily podcast, plus videos put together by online creators including Bree Green, Chris “Lethal Shooter” Matthews, Jesser, Jenna Bandy, Ben Taylor and Tristan Jass.
Some of that programming will be exclusive to the NBA’s platforms, Zuckert said. Fans will be able to view the shows via mobile and TV apps through a new “live” tab.
“We are thinking about the NBA app and NBA TV as one offering,” Zuckert said. “The NBA TV linear channel will take the best of the best of what’s on digital, but for fans watching on the streaming platform, they’ll have the ability to switch between different content.”