History of NBA TV in Timeline

NBA TV is a sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1999, it is the oldest subscription network in North America owned by a professional sports league. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the network broadcasts NBA games (exhibition, regular season, and playoff), as well as content from the NBA G League and WNBA. NBA TV's programming includes analysis programs, specials, and documentaries centered on professional basketball.

November 2, 1999: NBA TV Launch

On November 2, 1999, NBA TV, the oldest subscription network owned by a professional sports league in North America, was launched.

2002: NBA TV replaced CNN/SI

In 2002, after Time Warner shut down the sports news network CNN/SI, many cable providers replaced that network with NBA TV.

February 2003: Channel Renamed

In February 2003, nba.com TV was renamed to NBA TV.

June 28, 2003: Carriage Agreement Signed

On June 28, 2003, NBA TV signed a multi-year carriage agreement with Cox Communications, Cablevision, and Time Warner Cable, expanding its reach to 45 million pay television households in the U.S. and distribution in 30 countries worldwide.

2004: Charter Communications Issues

Before 2004, NBA TV was not available to legacy Charter Communications customers using outdated billing plans, which carried the network as NBA.com TV.

April 2005: Chinese Basketball Association Finals

In April 2005, NBA TV televised the Chinese Basketball Association finals for the first time.

October 8, 2007: NBA to Transfer Operations to Turner Sports

On October 8, 2007, it was reported that the NBA would transfer NBA TV's operations to Time Warner's Turner Sports division.

2007: NBA TV HD Launched

In 2007, the high-definition version of NBA TV, NBA TV HD, was launched as a 1080i high-definition simulcast feed.

October 28, 2008: Turner Takes Over Operations

On October 28, 2008, Turner took over NBA TV's operations, using the same announcers and analysts from TNT's NBA telecasts and relocating program production to Turner Studios in Atlanta.

April 16, 2009: DirecTV Carriage Agreement

On April 16, 2009, DirecTV announced it reached a carriage agreement with the NBA to continue carrying NBA TV and NBA League Pass.

June 4, 2009: Comcast Channel Placement Change

On June 4, 2009, Comcast announced an agreement with the NBA to move NBA TV from the Sports Entertainment Package to the basic level Digital Classic package.

September 23, 2009: Verizon FiOS Adds NBA TV and League Pass

On September 23, 2009, Verizon FiOS added NBA TV and NBA League Pass to its systems.

October 1, 2009: DirecTV Channel Placement Change

On October 1, 2009, DirecTV moved NBA TV and NBA League Pass from its Sports Pack add-on tier to its lower-priced Choice Xtra base package.

October 22, 2009: New Multi-Year Agreements

On October 22, 2009, NBA TV signed new multi-year agreements with Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, and Dish Network, and renewed its agreement with Cox Communications.

2009: NBA Classics Debut

In 2009, the repeats of NBA games on TBS and TNT began, branded as NBA Classics.

October 2010: NBA Premium TV Launched in the Philippines

In October 2010, NBA Premium TV was launched in the Philippines as a redirect broadcast of NBA TV.

October 29, 2010: AT&T U-verse Carriage Deal

On October 29, 2010, AT&T U-verse reached a carriage deal to carry NBA TV's standard and high definition feeds.

2011: Playoff Coverage Criticism and Changes

In 2011, NBA TV was criticized for its first-round playoff coverage and began to produce a full and neutral national broadcast for those games, starting with the 2011–12 playoffs.

February 2012: NBA TV International on NBA.TV

In February 2012, NBA TV International was made available on NBA.TV as an internet subscription channel outside the United States.

2013: Peak household reach

In 2013, NBA TV reached its peak of 61,000,000 pay television households in the United States.

May 18, 2016: Charter Acquires Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks

On May 18, 2016, Charter acquired Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks for $78.7 billion; both carried NBA TV.

February 2017: NBA TV Availability on Charter

Since February 2017, NBA TV has been available to Charter households, where available, when customers switch to the new 'Spectrum' billing plan, which united Charter, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks under the Spectrum branding.

October 11, 2017: Players Only on NBA TV

On October 11, 2017, it was announced that the Players Only franchise, will show live games on NBA TV, starting October 24, 2017.

October 24, 2017: Players Only Debut on NBA TV

On October 24, 2017, Players Only debuted live games on NBA TV every Tuesday for the first half of the 2017-18 season.

January 23, 2018: Players Only Transition to TNT

On January 23, 2018, Players Only transitioned to TNT for the remainder of the regular season.

October 2019: NBA Premium TV Defunct

In October 2019, NBA Premium TV in the Philippines went defunct after almost 9 years of existence.

2019: Cancellation of Players Only

In 2019, Players Only was cancelled, and Tuesday (first half) and Monday (second half) night games on NBA TV were rebranded as NBA TV Center Court.

July 2020: NBA TV Philippines Launched

On July 31, 2020, the Philippine version of NBA TV, NBA TV Philippines, was launched.

2020: NBA League Pass Broad Rollout

A broader rollout for NBA League Pass on Charter began in 2020 for the 2020-21 season.

2021: First College Basketball Broadcasts

Beginning in 2021, NBA TV began to broadcast a package of men's and women's Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) college basketball games in February as an observance of Black History Month. This marked NBA TV's first broadcasts of college basketball games.

2021: NBA TV Center Court Schedule Change

In 2021, NBA TV Center Court was moved to Monday nights for most of the season due to TNT moving its marquee games to Tuesdays during the NFL regular season.

2022: NBA TV International Reach

As of 2022, NBA TV International could be seen in 100 countries via various partners.

June 2023: NBA TV Availability in US Homes

As of June 2023, NBA TV was available in 38.6 million homes in the United States.

November 2023: NBA TV Household Availability

As of November 2023, NBA TV is available to approximately 37,000,000 pay television households in the United States.

2024: Jalen Rose joins NBA TV

In 2024, Jalen Rose joined NBA TV.

2024: NBA Media Rights Deal and NBA TV's Future

In 2024, the NBA signed a new media rights deal with ABC/ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime Video beginning in the 2025–26 season, ending TNT's broadcasting relationship with the league. On November 18, TNT parent company Warner Bros. Discovery announced that they reached a settlement with the NBA, which includes a five-year renewal with TNT Sports (formerly Turner Sports) to continue managing NBA Digital (including NBA TV, NBA.com, and League Pass).

2025: End of TNT Broadcasting Relationship

In 2025, a new media rights deal between the NBA, ABC/ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime Video goes into effect for the 2025-26 season, ending TNT's broadcasting relationship with the league.