Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
Charles Barkley on ESPN! Sixers games on Amazon! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria! The NBA season tips off Tuesday night, and with it begins new TV rights deals with NBC, ESPN, and Amazon that will reshape coverage of the league for the next decade plus. There’s been a lot of handwringing over the NBA’s new national schedule, with exclusive games being broadcast nationally every night on different channels and streaming platforms. It’s quite a change, considering TNT had been broadcasting national games on Thursday nights for 36 years. Despite all the shuffling, not much will change for Sixers fans. Sixty nine of the team’s 82 games will air on NBC Sports Philadelphia (seven on NBC Sports Philadelphia+), with Kate Scott and Alaa Abdelnaby back to call all the action. Abdelnaby, the former Duke standout and NBA player, is entering his 10th season calling Sixers games (and his fifth alongside Scott). He was hired in the middle of “The Process,” but despite the Sixers losing 72 games during his first season, last season was his most difficult as a broadcaster. “Even though it wasn’t written in stone, we knew what they were doing” when the Sixers were intentionally losing games to gain assets, Abdelnaby told The Inquirer. “Last year, that wasn’t the case. They weren’t trying to do anything Process-ish … We kind of went through a whole season of not being relevant. And that stinks.” Abdelnaby has high hopes for this season, pinned on a potentially new role for Joel Embiid following his second knee surgery in 14 months. Embiid played 19 minutes in the Sixers’ final preseason game on Saturday, telling reporters he was “in a good space” both mentally and physically, though his status for the season opener against the Boston Celtics Wednesday night remains uncertain. Being around them for two games and at practice, Abdelnaby said the mood among the Sixers seem much more positive then the second half of last season. By his eye, the body language of the players and coaches all point in the right direction. “I think health has a lot to do with that,” Abdelnaby said. “At least I’m feeling a sense of optimism from the group, and that’s a good thing.” The new NBA media deals have opened up broadcasting opportunities dramatically, with national games airing just about every night. While Abdelnaby used to call college basketball games for CBS Sports, he’s in no rush to return to a jet-setting lifestyle. “When I did college, it was a rough and tumble existence,” Abdelnaby said. " I think I’ve gotten soft over the last 10 years, because now I fly on their plane, I don’t have to rent a car in the middle of nowhere and return it … I am so spoiled." As far as NBC Sports Philadelphia’s studio goes, Amy Fadool, Marc Jackson, and former Sixers head coach Jim Lynam return for Sixers pre- and postgame coverage. This is the first season Sixers fans within the Philadelphia TV market can subscribe directly to NBC Sports Philadelphia without needing a cable TV plan. Fans outside the area can stream all the games using NBA League Pass. Sixers games can also be heard on 97.5 The Fanatic, with Tom McGinnis returning for his 31st season calling games. New NBA weekly national schedule While the bulk of the Sixers’ regular-season games will air on NBC Sports Philadelphia, 13 games will air nationally across a host of services. Here’s a general breakdown of the NBA’s national broadcast and streaming schedule this season: After 23 years, NBA returns to NBC Michael Jordan is making the leap to NBA pundit (sort-of) as NBC airs games for the first time since the 2002 season. Jordan won’t make his debut Tuesday as a studio analyst. Instead, he’ll appear via a prerecorded interview with Mike Tirico during NBC’s debut. The network hasn’t said how frequently Jordan will contribute, but those taped segments are expected to be scattered throughout the season. NBC will start the season broadcasting a Tuesday-night doubleheader, with the East Coast and West Coast getting different prime-time games during most weeks (both will stream live on Peacock). NBC will also debut Sunday Night Basketball beginning Feb. 1, after the end of the NFL season. The network’s NBA coverage will pause after that for the first two weeks in February for the 2026 Olympics in Milan, Italy. After practicing with the Sixers and a few other teams last season, Tirico said he’ll call the first couple of Tuesday night games for NBC before focusing on his NFL duties through the playoffs. He’ll also has his duties as the host of the Olympics to contend with. The Sixers are scheduled to appear on NBC four times this season, beginning with their Nov. 11 matchup against the Boston Celtics at the newly-named Xfinity Mobile Arena. Play-by-play voices: Mike Tirico, Noah Eagle, Terry Gannon, Michael Grady Game analysts: Reggie Miller, Grant Hill, Jamal Crawford, Brad Daugherty, Derek Fisher, Austin Rivers, Brian Scalabrine, Robbie Hummel Studio analysts: Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady Sixers fans will also need Peacock and Amazon’s Prime Video The streaming wars have finally come for NBA fans. With TNT out of the picture, Sixers completists will need to sign up for two streaming services to watch all of Philly’s 82 games. The first is Peacock, NBC’s subscription streaming service, which is slated to stream 40 exclusive NBA games this season, as well as every game airing on NBC. As of now, Peacock is scheduled to exclusively stream just on Sixers game — a matchup against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 5. A subscription to Peacock’s premium tier runs $10.99 a month, though some Comcast Xfinity subscribers can get a discount. The second streaming service Sixers fans will need is likely one they already have — Amazon Prime Video, which will stream 66 regular season NBA games, including a bulk of the Emirates NBA cup and a new Black Friday game. The Sixers are scheduled to play in four games that will stream on Prime Video, beginning with their Halloween night matchup against the Celtics in Philly on Oct. 31. If you’re an NBA League Pass subscriber, one cool feature on Prime Video is the ability to make your own multiview featuring up to four live NBA games. Prime Video comes with Amazon Prime, but you can also subscribe to it directly for $9 a month. One familiar face will be Sixers veteran Kyle Lowry, who is slated to make “select appearances” on Amazon’s NBA coverage this season. Amazon’s studio show, which will feature Blake Griffin and Dirk Nowitzki, could also be a fun watch. Charles Barkley and the ‘Inside the NBA’ crew heading to ESPN TNT lost the NBA but is keeping its studio show. It’s just going to air on another network. Inside the NBA, the beloved studio show featuring Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson, is jumping to ESPN this season while still being produced by TNT Sports. They’ll make their debut Wednesday night at 6 p.m. as part of ESPN’s season-opening doubleheader. ESPN has said there will be no changes to the beloved show, other than a lopsided schedule. Barkley and company are only scheduled appear three more times before Christmas — Thursday, Oct. 29, and Nov. 12. “We always go to 2 in the morning. They said they’re going to give us time,” Barkley said in a recent interview with NBA columnist Steve Bulpett. “We were concerned they’re going to be like, ‘No, you gotta go to SportsCenter or you’ve got to leave when we’re on ABC and go to the local affiliates.’ That’s the only two things we were concerned with.” The only remaining TV partner from last season, ESPN will mostly air NBA games on Wednesday nights, with some other nights and holidays thrown into the mix. They’ll also add Friday night games beginning Jan. 16, with most airing on ABC. As far as ESPN’s announcers, the only major change is on their top announcing crew, which the network hasn’t been able to get right since laying off Jeff Van Gundy and Marc Jackson in 2023. This time, Doris Burke is out, replaced by longtime ESPN analyst and former La Salle standout Tim Legler, who will join Mike Breen and Richard Jefferson. Burke will still call NBA games alongside Dave Pasch.
