With the 2025-2026 NBA season tipping-off exclusively on NBC and Peacock in the US on October 21st, NBCUniversal reports it has exceeded advertising expectations, with nearly 170 partners investing in the property and nearly all inventory already sold out.

The NBA’s return to NBCUniversal, after nearly 20 years, has broadened the company’s portfolio-wide partnerships, with over 20 per cent of advertisers being new to NBCUniversal.  Additionally, the NBA’s return has sparked interest from first-time brands with nearly 10 per cent new investments into the franchise at large.

NBCUniversal’s broadcast and streaming footprint is driving strong demand from advertisers, with over 70 per cent of clients investing cross-platform.  Additionally, over 30 per cent of overall NBA investments have gone solely towards digital inventory and investments in linear exceeded initial expectations by more than 20 per cent, highlighting “the unwavering power of broadcast”, said NBCUniversal.

The company has officially sold out of all key positions for this season of the NBA with investments across all core categories including Auto, Finance, QSR, Entertainment and Retail. The key positions include:

• • American Express will be the Official Halftime Sponsor for NBA on NBCUniversal.
  • DraftKings will serve as the Official Betting Partner of NBA on NBCUniversal.
  • Kia will be 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 Tuesday NBA Showtime studio show.
  • Wingstop will sponsor Monday NBA Showtime studio show.
  • Xfinity will be the Official Presenting Sponsor for Peacock NBA Monday.

As part of its efforts to democratise access to its premium inventory, NBCUniversal is making its NBA inventory available programmatically on 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. 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,” commented Mark Marshall, Chairman, Global Advertising & Partnerships.

“The demand for live sports over the last year has been unprecedented across our properties and the NBA is no exception. Launching a new property, there were certain expectations we had and the appetite from our partners far exceeded all of those. Advertisers were eager to invest across linear, streaming and digital, leading to our near sell-out. We are proud to welcome the NBA to our incredible roster of sports and bring both viewers and advertisers an unrivaled, world-class experience,” said Peter Lazarus Executive Vice President NBC Sports & Olympics, Advertising and Partnerships.

“As a longstanding partner of the NBA, with a Card Member base that is deeply passionate about sports, we’re thrilled to be the Official Halftime Sponsor of the NBA on NBC and Peacock. Live sports viewership continues to be strong, giving us a unique opportunity to reach the right audiences in fun and engaging content as the NBA returns to NBC,” added Jill Hamilton, Vice President, Global Media, American Express.

In the UK and Ireland, the NBA season will be available to watch on Sky Sports and Prime Video.

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Tags: advertising, McDonald's, NBA, NBC