NBCUniversal Nearly Sells Out NBA Ad Inventory With 170 Partners Ahead of Season

NBCUniversal is poised for a strong start to the 2025-26 NBA season with nearly all of its advertising inventory sold out and close to 170 partners committed, surpassing internal expectations. Over 20% of the advertisers are new to NBCU, and nearly 10% are new to the NBA franchise, with more than 70% of clients investing across broadcast and streaming platforms, and over 30% focusing solely on digital inventory. Investments in linear TV, a critical part of the NBC-NBA deal, have exceeded expectations by over 20%. Major sponsors include American Express as the official halftime sponsor, DraftKings as the official betting partner, Kia presenting Tuesday night games, McDonald's sponsoring "Basketball Night in America" and "NBA Showtime" on Sundays, State Farm and Wingstop sponsoring studio shows, and Xfinity presenting Peacock NBA Monday. NBCU will broadcast 100 regular-season games, up to 40 playoff games, and the NBA All-Star Weekend/Game annually, also offering programmatic availability of ad inventory on Peacock. The return of NBA coverage to NBC and Peacock marks the start of an 11-year deal, with NBCU aiming to recreate the excitement of prior NBA broadcasts while leveraging cross-platform advertising opportunities.