Are All NBA Playoff Games Nationally Televised?

The answer to this question may surprise you. While the majority of NBA playoff games are nationally televised, there are actually a handful of games that are only available to watch locally.

Introduction

The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament held after the conclusion of the NBA regular season. The tournament features 16 teams in the first round, with 8 from each conference. The winners of each first-round series advance to the second round to face one of the remaining teams in their conference, with the winners of those series advancing to the conference finals. The two conference champions then face each other in the NBA Finals.

All NBA playoff games are nationally televised.

What NBA Playoff Games are Televised?

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a men’s professional basketball league in North America, composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). It is widely considered to be the premier men’s professional basketball league in the world. The NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament held after the NBA’s regular season to determine the league’s champion.

Conference Finals

The Conference Finals are the NBA’s final four teams. The two winners advance to the NBA Finals. All games are televised nationally.

NBA Finals

The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The winning team of the series receives the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.

Why are All Playoff Games Not Televised?

The NBA playoffs are a time when the best teams in the league compete for the championship title. The games are highly anticipated and watched by many fans. However, not all games are nationally televised. There are several reasons why this is the case.

Local TV Markets

The answer has to do with something called the “local television market.” Basically, each city has its own television market, and each market is assigned a certain number of NBA games that will be televised locally each week.

So, for example, if the Los Angeles Lakers are playing the Boston Celtics in Boston, the game will be televised in both L.A. and Boston. But if the Lakers are playing the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, the game will only be televised in L.A. and Charlotte — it won’t be shown anywhere else in the country.

The same goes for every other city in the country. There are only so many NBA games that can be televised nationally each week, so some games have to be shown only in the local markets of the two teams involved.

National TV Markets

This is a question that pops up every year during the NBA playoffs. The answer, in short, has to do with TV markets and contracted national TV rights.

Before we get too deep into why all playoff games are not televised, let’s back up and look at how the NBA regular season works from a broadcasting standpoint. During the regular season, there are two national TV networks that cover the NBA: ESPN and TNT. Each network broadcasts a game on Wednesday and Thursday nights, as well as on Friday night (TNT only). In addition to these games, ABC also broadcasts a game on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. The remaining games are shown regionally on either Fox Sports Net or Comcast Sports Net.

Now, let’s take a look at how the playoffs work. The first two rounds of the playoffs are still covered by ESPN and TNT, with ABC showing select games on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. However, once we get to the Conference Finals, things start to change. For the Conference Finals, ABC has exclusive coverage and does not have to share any games with ESPN or TNT. This is why you will often see one Conference Final series televised while the other is not.

Once we get to the NBA Finals, things change again. ABC has exclusive coverage of the NBA Finals and does not have to share any games with ESPN or TNT. This is why you will often see one Conference Final series televised while the other is not.

So, in short, the reason why all playoff games are not televised is because of national TV markets and contracted national TV rights.

Conclusion

So, are all NBA Playoff games nationally televised? The answer is unfortunately, no. While most games are televised, there are a handful of games that are not available on national TV. These games are usually available on local television stations or via NBA League Pass, which is a subscription service that allows you to watch any game, live or on-demand.