It’s mid-April, and the NBA playoffs are starting right on schedule. While the playoff calendar hasn’t changed this year, the broadcast schedule has shifted for the 2026 NBA playoffs.
My NBA consumption goes way up during the playoffs, increasing with each subsequent round. I rarely seek out a game to watch during the lengthy, 82-game regular season and wait for the playoff field to be set before I’m ready to sit down and watch a game from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer.
If you’re like me, and your NBA fandom subsists on game highlights, podcasts and catching the occasional second half, fourth quarter or (more likely) the final few minutes of an actual live game, then you’ll need to get yourself acquainted with the new NBA media landscape with the start of the playoffs.
Under the NBA’s new media-rights deal, games this season were split across its three broadcast partners: Disney (ABC/ESPN), Comcast (NBC/Peacock) and Amazon (Prime Video). And each of these three entities has a part of the playoffs.
Here’s what you need to know to watch the 2026 NBA playoffs in this new era, starting with the Play-in tournament that begins tonight.
How to watch the NBA Play-in tournament
The play-in tournament begins with two games tonight followed by two more games tomorrow before concluding with two games on Friday. All six games will stream exclusively on Amazon Prime.
Here’s the Play-in tournament schedule. Each game will stream exclusively on Prime Video.
Tuesday, April 14
- No. 10 Miami Heat at No. 9 Charlotte Hornets: 7:30 p.m. ET
- No. 8 Portland Trail Blazers at No. 7 Phoenix Suns: 10 p.m. ET
Wednesday, April 15
- No. 8 Orlando Magic at No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers: 7:30 p.m. ET
- No. 10 Golden State Warriors at No. 9 LA Clippers: 10 p.m. ET
Friday, April 17
- Eastern Conference 9/10 winner at 7/8 loser: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Western Conference 9/10 winner at 7/8 loser: 10 p.m. ET
NBA playoff TV schedule
After the play-in games this week, the field of 16 is set for the first round of the NBA playoffs that begins on Saturday.
The channel lineup needed for the NBA playoffs is different this year. Gone are games on TNT and NBA TV. Instead, you’ll need a TV subscription that has ABC, ESPN, NBC and NBC Sports Network — plus Amazon Prime. Or you can go the streaming route and use Prime Video, Peacock and ESPN Unlimited.
NBC/Peacock has the most first-round coverage. It will show up to 23 first-round games and 11 second-round games as well as the Western Conference Finals. Every one of its games will stream on Peacock and also be shown on either NBC or NBCSN.
The rest of the first round games will be split between ESPN/ABC and Prime Video. This year’s Eastern Conference finals will be on ESPN/ABC. And when the calendar turns to June, the NBA Finals will be broadcast on ABC.
Best live TV streaming service for the NBA Playoffs
If you are already an Amazon Prime subscriber, then you just need four TV channels to get full coverage of the NBA playoffs: ABC, ESPN, NBC and NBC Sports Network. The catch is NBCSN, which Comcast just relaunched late last year ahead of its coverage of the Winter Olympics.
The five major live TV streaming services — DirecTV, Fubo, Hulu Plus Live TV, Sling and YouTube TV — each carry ABC, NBC and ESPN, but I can find NBCSN only on YouTube TV’s channel listings. So, that’s the pick for the NBA playoffs if you don’t want to miss a game.
Live TV streaming services allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide and our picks for the best sports streaming services.
