With just two weeks before the start of the 2025-26 NBA season, NBCUniversal has exceeded its internal advertising expectations with nearly all inventory sold out and almost 170 partners investing in the property.
“The demand for live sports over the last year has been unprecedented across our properties and the NBA is no exception. Launching a new property, there were certain expectations we had and the appetite from our partners far exceeded all of those,” Peter Lazarus, NBC Sports & Olympics’ executive vice president of advertising and partnerships, said in a statement. “Advertisers were eager to invest across linear, streaming and digital, leading to our near sell-out. We are proud to welcome the NBA to our incredible roster of sports and bring both viewers and advertisers an unrivaled, world-class experience.”
Over 20% of NBCUniversal’s NBA advertisers are new to the company, with nearly 10% of new investments into the franchise at large from first-time brands. More than 70% of NBCU’s clients are investing across broadcast and streaming, while over 30% of overall NBA investment has gone solely towards digital inventory. Investments in linear exceeded initial expectations by more than 20%.
NBCU said it has “officially sold out of all key positions” for the NBA season with investments across categories including auto, finance, QSR, entertainment and retail.
American Express will serve as the official halftime sponsor and DraftKings will serve as the official betting partner for the NBA on NBCUniversal. Kia will be the presenting sponsor for Tuesday’s NBA Coast to Coast and McDonald’s will sponsor Basketball Night in America and NBA Showtime on Sunday nights. Wingstop and State Farm will sponsor the Monday and Tuesday NBA Showtime Studio show, respectively, while Xfinity will be the presenting sponsor for Peacock’s NBA Monday.
The company will also make its NBA inventory available programmatically on Peacock, noting that programmatic investment for college basketball has grown over 100% year over year.
“As a Chicago native, watching Michael Jordan and the Bulls win six championships with the NBA on NBC was an indescribable feeling and now helping to welcome the property back is both a personal and professional highlight for me,” Global advertising and partnerships chairman Mark Marshall said. “It is incredibly exciting to re-create the magic of the NBA on NBC as it returns to NBC and launches it on Peacock for the first time. We have already seen the power of live sports at NBCUniversal for advertisers and our latest partnership with the NBA is going to prove that power tenfold.”
Under the terms of its 11-year agreement, NBC Sports will present 100 NBA regular season games and up to 40 playoff games. It will also air six conference finals over 11 seasons, as well as an NBA All-Star Weekend game every year.
Starting Oct. 27, Peacock NBA Monday will stream up to three NBA games nationwide on Monday nights throughout the regular season. A 30-minute studio program will lead into game coverage each Monday night.
Coast to Coast Tuesday will begin Oct. 28, presenting doubleheaders throughout the regular season on NBC and Peacock. On most Tuesdays, an 8 p.m. ET game will be presented to NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, and an 8 p.m. PT game to NBC stations in the Pacific and Mountain time zones. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. A 30-minute studio program will lead into coverage each week on Peacock.
NBC Sports will also launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026, after Sunday Night Football and NFL playoff coverage concludes. Sunday nights will occasionally feature doubleheaders. A one-hour, on-site studio program will lead into game coverage each week on NBC and Peacock.
This year, Sunday Night Basketball will pause on Feb. 8 and Feb. 15, 2026, due to NBC Sports’ coverage of Super Bowl LX, the NBA All-Star Game and the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. It will resume on Feb. 22 and run through April 5.
The 2025-26 NBA season begins Oct. 21, with the Oklahoma City Thunder facing off against the Houston Rockets followed by the Golden State Warriors taking on the Los Angeles Lakers.
