When Adam Silver announced the record-breaking partnership of the new media rights deal, it was a revelation of a new dawn. Starting 2025-26, fans will see nationally televised NBA games every day of the week. Good news, right? But the reaction of the fans suggests otherwise. As the new schedule dropped, seemingly, fans’ interest in watching the NBA also saw a disappointment. Now, it’s a new headache for the Commissioner, which he wouldn’t have expected.

The 11-year contract had Disney (ABC/ESPN), Amazon, and NBC, worth a total of $75 billion. Yes, TNT’s association with the league, which began in 1989, ended in 2025. For Inside the NBA fans, the show will continue to air, as ESPN decided to license to show and act as a savior. Yes, the gang remains the same, but the days they showed up to grace your screen will be changed. The NBA released its new schedule with all new partners. Here’s how fans can expect their week’s viewing experience.

On Mondays, Peacock will host a doubleheader every week, followed by NBC airing two regional games each Tuesday. Long-time fans of Inside the NBA fondly remember watching NBA games on TNT on Tuesdays and sometimes on Thursdays. But that has changed. One thing that has not changed is ESPN’s tradition of showcasing games on Wednesdays and Fridays. So, ESPN will continue to have its standard doubleheader on Wednesday nights. Friday nights are for Amazon to stream its double-headers, but ESPN will occasionally pick up games.

The league has also covered our weekend cravings of watching our favorite team. ABC will air prime-time games on Saturday, per last season, but Amazon Prime will pick up daytime games as well. Games on Sunday will be aired on NBC once Sunday Night Football wraps up in January. Every day, a different option to watch games on, fun? No, chaotic, yes!

Fans question the decision as Adam Silver’s plan receives backlash

One thing is to have ease of access, but it’s a completely different ball game to have options with only limited viewing. Every new partner will have a set number of games, and not the entire catalog. That’s why a fan protested, “There is something deeply wrong with Adam Silver. This guy is single-handedly destroying the NBA.” For context, in total, NBCUniversal will air “up to 100 games,” per the television coverage plan, with Disney and Amazon Prime airing 80 and 66 games, respectively.

Another layer to this is that the Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship will exclusively air on Amazon Prime, while Christmas Day games will remain on ABC and ESPN. So, one netizen was irritated at the thought, and this plan won’t work. “trying to force people to buy all these different streaming plans isn’t gonna work out for them like they think it will.” Adam Silver is trying to revive the rating. This past season, while TV ratings dipped 13%, they still beat 2023’s record low. But there was still an upside. The digital engagement jumped through the roof as League Pass signups increased by 56%, and social content hit 4.7 billion views.

So, switching to more streaming might be a good idea, no? A netizen disagreed. “NBA ratings are low so let’s put most of our games on streaming services and alienate our audience even further! Smart strategy!” As the dissatisfaction was loud, the fans didn’t really care if their words were devoid of sentiment.

“This has to be regarded as a failure. Fire this clown“. The pressure was already on Adam Silver since the last finals rating, despite garnering more than 10.2 million viewers per game, was the least-watched finals since 2007.

Is this the final stroke, where people stop caring to watch? One fan strongly opined, “Good God no. I’m so glad I don’t watch this S— anymore ANYWAYS.” The deal can’t be changed now; it’s all done and dusted. For the next decade, these multiple options will be present. But fans’ outrage even before the season starts is never a good sign.