Selling Commercials in NBA Games a Slam Dunk for NBCUniversal

NBCUniversal didn’t waste any time selling commercials in NBA games.

Almost before you could finish humming Roundball Rock, and three weeks before the 2025-26 season tips off on Oct. 21, NBCU says it is nearly sold out of its NBA inventory.

As a reminder, the NBA returns to NBC and its streaming service Peacock this season as part of a $1.8 billion a year deal. Games will no longer be on TNT, which let the league slip through its fingers. (Inside the NBA, with Charles Barkley, Shaq, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson is moving to ESPN.) 

Amazon Prime will also be streaming NBA games this season.

Some of the advertisers who have taken big positions in NBC’s NBA telecast include American Express as the official halftime sponsor, DraftKings as the official betting partner of NBCU, Kia as the official presenting sponsor of Tuesday’s NBA Coast to Coast, McDonald’s will sponsor Basketball Night in America and NBA Showtime on Sunday nights, State Farm will be the sponsor of the Tuesday NBA Showtime studio show, Wingstop will sponsor the Monday NBA Showtime studio show and Comcast’s Xfinity will be the official presenting sponsor for Peacock.

NBCUniversal didn’t say how much ad revenue it expects to take in this NBA season, but it claims that it has signed up 170 advertisers and that 20% of them are new to NBCU. (The company said that 10% are new to the NBA.) Most of those advertisers are buying ads on both broadcast (NBC) and Peacock.

“As a Chicago native, watching Michael Jordan and the Bulls win six championships with the NBA on NBC was an indescribable feeling and now helping to welcome the property back is both a personal and professional highlight for me. It is incredibly exciting to re-create the magic of the NBA on NBC as it returns to NBC and launches it on Peacock for the first time,” said Mark Marshall, chairman, global advertising & partnerships, at NBCU. “We have already seen the power of live sports at NBCUniversal for advertisers and our latest partnership with the NBA is going to prove that power tenfold.”

Which reminds us that Air Jordan has been signed up as a commentator for NBCU. We’ll see how high he can fly with a microphone in his hand.

MORE BIG NUMBERS

Nielsen has begun releasing a new weekly list of the top sports telecasts. One thing that’s not a surprise: the Top 6 on the list for the week ended September 28 were all NFL games.

The biggest audience came for the Dallas Cowboys’ tie with the Green Bay Packers on NBC’s Sunday Night Football with 23.8 million viewers. 

Ranked No. 7 was ABC’s college football game between Alabama and Georgia, which drew 10.4 million viewers.

To get to a non-football telecast, you have to go all the way down to No. 16 with Sunday’s round of the Ryder Cup on NBC, which had 2.996 million viewers.

Major League Baseball on Fox drew 2.03 million viewers and a WNBA playoff game between Indianapolis and Las Vegas drew 1.715 million.

I’M OVER HERE NOW

One of the biggest headaches for sports fans in the streaming TV era is trying to figure out where to watch the game you want to see. On top of that, you’ve got to see if the the service you use carries that channel. 

This is especially true when it comes to local and regional sports channels.

Just last week. Monumental Sports Network, the channel that carries the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards was dropped by YouTube TV. Among the streaming services that offer multiple channels like a cable operator, YouTube TV is the most popular, with about 10 million subscribers.

DirecTV, which has been promoting itself to sports fans, said it is adding Monumental Sports to its $19.99 per month MyHome Team streaming package. MyHome Team carries local telecasts of 18 NBA teams, 10 NHL teams and 17 Major League Baseball teams. 

Monumental Sports is also part of DirecTV’s other packages on satellite and streaming.

“Monumental Sports Network already reaches millions of homes across the DMV, and we’re always looking for ways to make it even easier for fans to watch our live games and our other programming,” said Zach Leonsis, President of Media & New Enterprises at Monumental Sports & Entertainment. “We’re constantly pushing to make Monumental more accessible—whether it’s enhancing the streaming experience or lowering the cost of subscriptions—because we’re fighting for our fans’ best interests. They give so much to our network and teams, and we’re committed to doing right by them.”

COAST TO COAST

FanDuel Sports Network, which operates 15 local and regional sports networks, is adding a new weekday show that will appear across its national footprint.

The new program, FanDuel Sports Network Countdown Live will premiere October 27 and appear at 5:30 p.m. ET. Countdown Live will follow another FanDuel Sports Network national show, Golic & Golic.

The show is being hosted by Stan Verrett and will feature reporters and commentators from the company’s array of local networks. 

“The launch of Countdown Live marks another important milestone as we continue to invest in original content and expand the scope of live programming across FanDuel Sports Network,” said Norby Williamson, president of programming and production for Main Street Sports Group. “What makes this show different is how it taps into the teams and markets we’re closest to, giving fans everywhere a real inside look at the night’s action. Stan brings tremendous experience and credibility, and we couldn’t be more excited to have him lead this new chapter for the network.”

FanDuel Sports Network is owned by Main Street Sports Group, which was created after the bankruptcy of the owner of the Bally Sport regional networks.