The National Basketball Association (NBA) is enjoying a spectacular start to its season, announcing its most watched opening month in more than a decade. This surge in popularity is a major vote of confidence for the league's new long-term broadcast agreements.
Record-Breaking Numbers Across Screens
According to an announcement made on Thursday, 20th November 2025, national games broadcast on NBC/Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, and ESPN have collectively attracted over 60 million viewers in the first month of the regular season. This represents the league's strongest opening-month audience in 15 years, a figure that stands even when excluding the unique 2011-12 Christmas Day start.
The excitement isn't confined to traditional television. The league also revealed that NBA content has amassed more than 30 billion views across its own and third-party social media platforms, setting a new record for this point in any season.
Merchandise and Attendance Also on the Rise
This wave of fan engagement is translating directly into commercial success. Sales on NBAStore.com have jumped by more than 20%, a boost credited in part to the magnetic appeal of the league's 'next generation stars'. Players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama, Tyrese Maxey, Cooper Flagg, Jalen Brunson, and Luka Doncic are driving a new era of popularity.
The digital subscription service, NBA League Pass, has seen a 10% increase in subscriptions, with the amount of time fans spend watching games on the platform up by 8%.
A Positive Outlook for the League's Future
The positive trend extends beyond screens and into the arenas themselves. In-arena attendance is keeping pace with last season, which was the second-best for attendance in league history, with venues filling to about 97% capacity across the board.
Ten teams have already sold out every home game this season: the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, and Utah Jazz. Other franchises, such as Atlanta and Charlotte, have seen their attendance numbers climb by nearly 10% compared to last year.
This phenomenal start comes as the league embarks on the first year of its monumental 11-year, $76 billion broadcast rights deal, signalling a period of unprecedented growth and stability for the sport.
