The National Basketball Association (NBA) is being telecast on national television on broadcast channel ABC, TNT and cable networks ESPN, as well as also in the NBA TV network. There are also many regional sports networks that show NBA. Recently, ESPN telecast doubleheaders on Friday and Wednesday nights, when TNT shows doubleheaders on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
NBA 2019-20 BROADCASTING TV CHANNELS
| Region | TV Channels |
| Argentina | NBA Pass, Cablevision, DirectTV, ESPN |
| Australia | ESPN, SBS, NBA TV |
| Belgium | Eleven BEL |
| Bosnia | Arena Sport, NBA TV (Arena Sport) |
| Brazil | TV Band, SporTV, ESPN, VIVO |
| Canada | NBA TV Canada, SN1, SN NOW, TSN2, TSN4, SN NOW |
| Dominican Republic | ESPN, NBA TV |
| Finland | Ruutu |
| France | NBA TV, beIN Sports |
| Germany | DAZN, NBA TV, Spox.com |
| Greece | Cosmote TV |
| Hong Kong | Viu TV, Sports 2 World, NBATV S2W |
| India | Ten1, Ten3, Sony SIX, Sony ESPN |
| Indonesia | Vidio.com, NBA TV |
| Israel | Sport 5, Sport 5 (NBA TV) |
| Italy | Sky Sport NBA, NBATV |
| Japan | Rakuten NBA Special |
| Korea | SpoTV2, NBA TV (Eclat) |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport |
| Mexico | NBA TV (Megacable) |
| Mongolia | NBA TV (SPS) |
| New Zealand | ESPN |
| Pan-Africa | NBATV C+A, Canal+Africa, TV5 Monde |
| Pan-Caribbean | Digicel SportsMax, NBA TV (Digicel), ESPN |
| Pan-Latin America | NBA Pass (DirecTV), DirecTV (NBA TV), ESPN |
| Pan-Middle East | NBA TV, beIN Sports |
| Philippines | CNN |
| Poland | Canal+Sport |
| Portugal | NBA TV (Sport TV), Sport TV 1 |
| Russia | Viasat Sport |
| Singapore | NBA TV (Starhub), NBA TV (M.I.A.) |
| South Africa | e.tv |
| Spain | Vamos, MDeportes |
| Taiwan | Videoland, ELTA TV |
| Thailand | TrueSport, NBA TV |
| Turkey | S Sport, NBA TV (D-Smart), NBATV Turk |
| United Kingdom | Sky Sports Arena |
| Venezuela | NBA Pass (DirecTV), DirecTV (NBA TV) |
Most watched NBA games on cable networks
| Year | Network | Rating | Viewership | Game |
| 2016 | TNT | 8.9 | 16.00M | Oklahoma City Thunder vs Golden State Warriors WCF Game 7 |
| 2012 | ESPN | 7.7 | 13.35M | Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat ECF Game 7 |
| 2013 | TNT | 7.1 | 11.57M | Indiana Pacers vs Miami Heat ECF Game 7 |
| 2011 | TNT | 6.2 | 11.11M | Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls ECF Game 1 |
| 2012 | ESPN | 6.8 | 11.07M | Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics ECF Game 6 |
| 2012 | ESPN | 6.8 | 11.07M | Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics ECF Game 4 |
| 2011 | TNT | 6.4 | 10.89M | Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat ECF Game 3 |
| 2016 | TNT | 6.2 | 10.81M | Golden State Warriors vs Oklahoma City Thunder WCF Game 6 |
| 2011 | TNT | 6.4 | 10.41M | Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls ECF Game 5 |
| 2012 | ESPN | 6.3 |
10.25M
| Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat ECF Game 5 |
In addition, the season is halfway there, ABC shows one game on Sunday afternoons and Saturday nights. Almost every game has been telecast on NBA TV like every night. But there is some exception like Tip-off Week, Schedule, Christmas Day and Martin Luther King JR. Day. ore games may be shown as the end of the regular season approaches, particularly games with playoff significance. During the season playoff, the matches of first-round are split between ESPN, TNT, ABC, and NBA TV on most weekends and the second round is split between ABC, TNT, and ESPN on weekends. The conference finals are split between TNT and ESPN; the two networks alternate which complete series they will carry from year to year. The entire NBA Finals is shown nationally on ABC. The NBA Finals is one of the few sporting events to be shown on a national broadcast network on a weeknight.
NBC then succeeded in the broadcast rights from 1990 to 2002. During NBC’s partnership with the NBA in the 1990s, the league rose to unprecedented popularity, with ratings surpassing the days of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the mid-1980s. Upon the expiration of the contract in 2002, the league signed an agreement with ABC, which began airing games in the 2002-03 season. NBC had made a four-year $1.3 billion ($330 million/year) bid in the spring of 2002 to renew its NBA rights, but the league instead went to ESPN and ABC with a six-year deal worth $2.4 billion ($400 million/year), a total of $4.6 billion ($766 million/year) when adding the cable deal with Turner Sports. Partially due to the retirement of Michael Jordan, the league suffered ratings decline after ESPN and ABC took over the rights. The NBA extended its national TV package on June 27, 2007, worth eight-year $7.4 billion ($930 million/year) through the 2015–16 season, during which the league had its new resurgence leading by renewed Celtics–Lakers rivalry and LeBron James. On October 6, 2014, NBA announced a nine-year $24 billion ($2.7 billion/year) extension with ESPN, ABC and Turner Sports beginning with the 2016–17 season and running through the 2024–25 season – the second most expensive media rights in the world after NFL and on a par with Premier League in annual rights fee from 2016–17 to 2018–19 season.