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NBA Opening Week Sets Record With Nearly 50 Million Viewers
The NBA Opening Week viewership is the most ever and up 34% vs. last season.
From NBA.com News Services
October 29, 2026 3:52 PM
Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers defeated the defending champion Knicks on opening night of the 2026-27 season. After a record opening night, the NBA maintained its historically strong viewership through Opening Week.
Nearly 50 million people in the U.S. watched NBA games across NBC/Peacock, ESPN, Amazon Prime Video and NBA TV through the first week of the season — the most ever and up 34% vs. last season. For the first time, eight Opening Week games each averaged at least 2 million viewers.
NBC Sports and Peacock
NBA Tip-Off on NBC and Peacock delivered the most-watched opening night ever, with Tuesday’s 76ers-Knicks and Thunder-Spurs doubleheader averaging 6.41 million viewers on NBC/Peacock, up 14% vs. last year.
The 76ers’ victory over the Knicks was the league’s most-watched primetime opening night game ever. It averaged 7.71 million viewers, up 32% year-over-year, and peaked at 9.1 million viewers at 9:45 p.m. ET.
Tuesday’s 76ers-Knicks and Thunder-Spurs doubleheader was the NBA’s most-watched opening night ever, averaging 6.41 million viewers on NBC/Peacock. The 76ers’ victory over the Knicks was the league’s most-watched primetime opening night game ever, averaging 7.71 million viewers…
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) October 22, 2026
ESPN
ESPN’s NBA Opening Week delivered its largest audience since 2014, averaging 2.3 million viewers across four games.
ESPN’s opening Wednesday doubleheader averaged 2.5 million viewers, marking the second most-viewed opening Wednesday ever.
The 76ers’ victory over the Cavaliers on Oct. 22 averaged 2.5 million viewers, up 26% from last year’s comparable game. It was the largest opening Thursday audience since 2018.
Last week's @ESPNNBA Opening Week delivered its largest audience since 2014! 🏀 2.3M avg. viewers, up 6% YoY 🏀 @cavs–@sixers had the largest Opening Thursday audience since 2018 (2.5M viewers) More: https://t.co/xT1expY8mV
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) October 26, 2026
Prime Video
Prime Video had its most-viewed NBA regular-season doubleheader ever, up 114% from its regular-season average last season. Knicks-Celtics was up 83% from Prime Video’s opening game last season.
🏀 ‼️ @NBAonPrime tipped off the second season of its exclusive coverage with impressive YoY gains for both the blockbuster doubleheader and NBA Nightcap! 🏀 📈
— PrimeVideoSportsPR (@PrimeSportsPR) October 28, 2026
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