- NBCUniversal announced it has nearly sold out the advertising inventory for the return of the NBA to its broadcast and streaming channels.
- Of the nearly 170 advertisers who will be advertising during the NBA coverage on NBC and Peacock, 20% are new to NBCUniversal and 10% are new to the franchise overall. More than 70% of those advertisers are making cross-platform buys. More than 30% of the overall NBA buys were digital only, and linear buys exceeded the network’s expectations by more than 20%.
- In July, NBCU and the NBA announced an 11-year deal to present 100 NBA regular-season and up to 40 playoff games, six conference finals and the NBA All-Star Weekend festivities and games annually. NBC’s contract also includes WNBA regular-season and playoff basketball games.
In addition to the general ad inventory, NBC announced it has officially sold out all of the key positions for the season, including Official Halftime Sponsor (American Express), Official Betting Partner (DraftKings) and Official Presenting Sponsor of Tuesday’s Coast-to-Coast games (Kia), and sponsors of its NBA Showtime studio shows on Monday (Wingstop) and Tuesday (State Farm), Sunday Night Basketball (McDonald’s), and Peacock’s NBA Monday (Xfinity).
Additionally, skincare brand CeraVe has become the league’s first-ever Official Skincare and Haircare partner of the NBA, building on the success of its “Head of CeraVe” campaign that featured Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis.
The partnership will include a CeraVe presence at many of the NBA’s major events, including the Emirates NBA Cup, NBA All-Star Weekend, NBA Summer League, NBA Canada Series and NBA House, as well as an NBA 2K game integration. The brands will also create a purpose-driven initiative, NBA Cares x CerVe “Care For All” to help youth in underserved communities live full and healthy lifestyles by hosting Jr. NBA clinics and dermatology educational programs in four US cities and one Canadian city.
The sellout of inventory marks a major milestone for NBCUniversal’s sports offering for 2026, as the company will also be the home for the 2026 Winter Olympics and Super Bowl in February.
“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,” said Peter Lazarus, executive vice president, NBC Sports & Olympics, advertising and partnerships, in a statement. “We are proud to welcome the NBA to our incredible roster of sports and bring both viewers and advertisers an unrivaled, world-class experience.”
