Play‑In shifts to Prime
- The NBA moved the entire Play‑In Tournament this year to Prime Video, changing where viewers find those games. (sportingnews.com) - The Play‑In began April 14, and the Finals are scheduled to end June 3 on ABC, per league scheduling notes. (covers.com) (espn.com) - Earlier rounds are split across ESPN, NBC, Peacock and Amazon, making the postseason viewing map more fragmented. (sportingnews.com)
The National Basketball Association’s entire Play-In Tournament moved this year to Prime Video, putting all six games behind Amazon’s streaming service instead of a traditional TV channel. (nba.com) The league’s official postseason calendar set the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament for April 14-17, with the first round starting April 18. NBA.com said the schedule page was updated April 21, after the play-in ended and the bracket moved into full playoff mode. (nba.com) Amazon said Prime Video carried all six play-in games from April 14 to 17 and will also stream select games in the first and second rounds. Its coverage includes an alternate “Prime Vision” feed with an above-the-rim camera and artificial intelligence-powered stats overlays. (aboutamazon.com) The shift lands in the first season of the league’s new national media setup, with games now spread across ABC, ESPN, NBC, Peacock and Prime Video. NBA.com’s season viewing guide says national games throughout 2025-26 are divided among those partners. (nba.com) That means the postseason viewing map now changes by round and by platform. Sporting News reported that the NBA Finals remain exclusive to ABC, while earlier rounds are split across ESPN, NBC, Peacock and Prime Video. (sportingnews.com) The play-in itself is the league’s four-day qualifier for the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in each conference. Teams that finish seventh through 10th in the regular season standings enter that mini-tournament, while the top six seeds go straight to the playoffs. (sports.yahoo.com) Prime Video’s bigger role comes from the NBA’s new 11-year media deal with Amazon, which gives the company exclusive streaming rights to regular-season games, the Emirates NBA Cup and playoff inventory beginning in 2025. Amazon announced that agreement in 2024 as part of its long-term NBA and Women’s National Basketball Association package. (aboutamazon.com) The 2026 Finals are scheduled to begin Wednesday, June 3, according to league scheduling notes compiled by NBA.com and other postseason trackers. By then, viewers who started the postseason on Prime may have to switch again to ABC for the championship round. (nba.com)
