The NBA Finals viewership has been at a steady decline over the last three seasons, with 11.64 million viewers in 2023, 11.3 million viewers in 2024 and 10.27 million viewers in 2025, the second-least watched Finals in NBA history according to ESPN, TNT and ABC. Brandon Dyvig | Long Beach Current
The NBA has a massive viewership problem, and it starts with the number of streaming platforms someone must subscribe to to watch all the games.
The streaming services required to watch nationally televised games are Peacock and Amazon Prime Video, but many people don’t subscribe to either.
The issue is even worse with games not on national television, because every game is behind a paywall.
NBA League Pass is the primary source to watch NBA games, and that alone costs $109.99 per season. That is not even close to the amount of money needed to watch every NBA game this season.
Any fan who wants to watch every NBA game from the regular season opener to the Finals will need to spend nearly $1,000 across five different streaming services to do so, according to MarketWatch.
It is already difficult to figure out which streaming service you can catch a game on any given night, but the cost makes it not worth watching.
However, this did not bother the NBA commissioner, Adam Silver. In a press conference, Silver called the league a “highlights-based sport,” sending the NBA community into outrage. This was controversial because the ratings would be a top priority.
“There is a huge amount of our content that people can essentially consume for free,” Silver said. “This is very much a highlights-based sport … Instagram, TikTok, Twitter—you name it.”
While that statement is somewhat true, Silver quickly became the league’s laughingstock.
If the commissioner of the NBA says that the majority of the league’s content can be consumed on social media, why should anyone, especially casual viewers, watch the games on TV?
Compared to other major sports leagues in the United States, the NBA sits behind both the MLB and NFL in viewership for their championship series, which are the biggest games of the season for each sport.
According to Forbes, the average viewership of the 2025 World Series was 15.5 million viewers throughout games one through seven, compared to the 2025 NBA Finals average viewership of 10.27 million.
The 2025 NFL Super Bowl blew both leagues out of the water, reaching 127.7 million viewers.
Front Office Sports claims the NBA’s viewership has declined significantly since 2020. Every finals series from 2020 to 2025 has been in the bottom seven for viewership in the United States.
To increase viewership for the NBA Finals, the league’s games need to be more accessible. Having to subscribe to five different streaming platforms to watch every game makes it way too challenging to enjoy the product.
If people can watch more games during the regular season, they may be more inclined to watch postseason basketball.
The MLB has nearly every game on MLB TV, which you can watch on your phone, tablet or computer for $30 per month.
Having access to almost every game keeps fans engaged with the league, and could be a big reason for their higher postseason ratings.
The NFL offers Sunday Ticket on YouTube for $276 per season, and $318 per season including RedZone, which is a heftier price, but having access to every game of the year is something NFL fans prioritize.
The NBA’s viewership problem starts with the commissioner. Silver needs to fix the viewer accessibility issue before it is too late and the casual viewer base looks for more affordable sports options.