NBA gets another boost as NBC Sports Network returns to TV lineups

NBC Sports Network is coming back, and the timing could not be more interesting for the NBA.

NBCUniversal announced Thursday that it is reviving NBCSN next week, four years after shutting the channel down.

The reboot launches Monday as a YouTube TV exclusive, giving the platform a major sports option at a time when Disney’s blackout has pulled ESPN and ABC from roughly 10 million homes.

NBCSN will carry live NBA games as part of the league’s new media rights deal with NBC/Peacock, ESPN/ABC and Amazon. That alone makes the relaunch noteworthy for basketball fans, especially with the regular season ramping up and national windows shifting under the new TV arrangement.

The revived network will also feature Premier League soccer, Big Ten football, WNBA games and multiple golf majors. MLB programming is expected to be added soon under a separate agreement.

Olympic coverage will follow in 2026, including a daily “Gold Zone” show during the Winter Games.

For now, the move gives YouTube TV a high-profile sports outlet while its standoff with Disney drags on.

Analysts estimate ESPN’s absence is costing Disney roughly $30 million a week. Disney wants higher carriage fees. Google wants more flexible programming tiers. Neither side appears close to budging.

“We’re ready to go as long as they want to,” Disney CFO Hugh Johnston said on CNBC.

NBCSN originally shut down in 2021 as much of its inventory shifted to USA Network, CNBC and Peacock. This second iteration leans heavily into live sports and daily programming, including PFT Live, The Dan Patrick Show, The Dan Le Batard Show and Matthew Berry’s fantasy football coverage.

For the NBA, the timing is ideal. NBC is back in the basketball business for the first time since the 2000s, and the resurrected NBCSN gives the league one more national platform as its new TV deal officially gets rolling.