Prime Video grabs Play-In tournament
- Amazon’s Prime Video took exclusive U.S. rights to the NBA’s 2026 SoFi Play-In Tournament, carrying all six games from April 14-17 in the league’s new media era. - The package is part of Amazon’s 11-year NBA deal, which also includes 66 regular-season games, the Emirates NBA Cup and playoff rounds short of the Finals. - ABC remains the NBA Finals home under the league’s 11-year agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon. (nba.com)
Prime Video had the NBA’s entire 2026 SoFi Play-In Tournament to itself, the first full test of Amazon’s new place in the league’s postseason lineup. (aboutamazon.com) (nba.com) Amazon’s exclusive window covered all six Play-In games from April 14 through April 17. Prime Video also has select first- and second-round playoff games under the same rights package. (aboutamazon.com) (nba.com) The arrangement comes from the NBA’s 11-year media deals with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon, which started with the 2025-26 season and run through 2035-36. Disney kept the NBA Finals, while NBC returned with games on NBC and Peacock and Amazon added a streaming-only national package. (nba.com) Amazon’s NBA package is larger than the Play-In alone. The company said it includes 66 regular-season games each year, the Emirates NBA Cup, first- and second-round playoff games, and conference finals in six of the 11 years. (aboutamazon.com) The Play-In gave Prime Video one of the league’s most concentrated postseason windows: six nationally exclusive games in four days before the first round began on April 18. The NBA’s official 2026 postseason schedule lists the Play-In on April 14-17 and the playoffs opening the next day. (aboutamazon.com) (nba.com) The early returns were solid for the league and Amazon. NBA.com said the inaugural Play-In run on Prime Video averaged 2.79 million U.S. viewers across six exclusive windows, up 18% from the prior year. (nba.com) Prime Video used the tournament to push new viewing features, including an alternate “Prime Vision” feed with an above-the-rim camera angle and artificial-intelligence-powered insights. Amazon has also tied the broader NBA partnership to Amazon Web Services tools for live stats and analytics. (aboutamazon.com 1) (aboutamazon.com 2) Amazon is widening its basketball footprint beyond the NBA. Prime Video said this year’s WNBA package includes 31 exclusive games in 2026, its first season with regular and postseason WNBA rights under the same 11-year deal. (aboutamazon.com 1) (aboutamazon.com 2) For fans, the result is a three-company postseason map: Prime Video for the Play-In and some early playoff rounds, NBC and Peacock back in the mix, and ABC still holding the Finals. (nba.com)
