BRISTOL, Conn.—ESPN is reporting data showing a strong start to its 2025-26 NBA regular season, with its first 21 games through Christmas Day producing the second-highest NBA viewing levels the network has ever seen.
According to Nielsen Big Data Plus Panel, the NBA on ESPN networks is averaging 2.6 million, up 35% from last season.
ESPN said viewership for the 2025-26 regular season trails only the 2010-11 campaign. That ranking excludes the 2011-12 and 2020-21 seasons, which were shortened by a player lockout and the pandemic, respectively, and had nontraditional schedules.
ESPN’s coverage of the NBA has also delivered significant year-over-year growth in key demographics this season. Through 21 games, viewership among P2-17 is up 45%, while viewership among women is up 47%. Additionally, Hispanic viewership is up 37%.
Overall, ESPN networks have carried seven of the top 10 most-watched NBA games this season according to Nielsen, including all five Christmas games – three of which averaged more than 6 million viewers for the first time ever.
The data is important for the league, which negotiated significant increases in media rights in 2024 for a new round of contracts with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Prime Video that began with the 2025-26 season. Those deals totaled $76 billion for media rights over an 11 year period.
ESPN has also generated substantial viewership for its NBA studio programming this season. Through Christmas, TNT Sports import “Inside the NBA” is averaging 1.2 million viewers across ESPN and ABC. “NBA Countdown” is averaging 582,000 viewers so far this season, up 20% from last year’s regular-season average. In addition, “NBA Today,“ ESPN’s weekday studio offering, is averaging 361,000 viewers this season, an increase of 26% from this time last year.
