How to watch the NBA in the UK

Jonathan Victoria • 23 Oct 2024 Guides

Don’t miss a single moment of this highly competitive season…

The NBA is back and truly delivering the most electrifying basketball fans have ever seen. After an exciting offseason highlighted by Team USA’s emphatic Olympic gold, we’re back to the main event with the fight for championship glory underway once more.

The opening day provided great action, with the reigning champions Boston Celtics kicking off their defense campaign in strong style, while their biggest rivals the Los Angeles Lakers also got their season off to a winning start, making NBA history in the process.

Find out how to watch the NBA in the UK, including what channel it will be on and other methods of watching it.

How to watch the NBA in the UK

TNT Sports became the UK broadcaster of the NBA once again last season, last hosting live games back in the 2017/18 season. Sky Sports then became the sole broadcaster in the UK until their deal expired prior to the 2023/24 season, in which TNT Sports then reclaimed the rights.

This season, TNT Sports has confirmed over 250 games will be shown live across the entire season.

Through TNT Sports, you are able to watch live NBA games in a couple of ways on multiple different platforms.

NBA on TV

If you’re looking to tune in on your TV, you can find certain games live on the TNT Sports channels. We say certain games as it’s not all games. 

The slate of over 250 games during the season mentioned earlier will see up to nine games broadcast live each week, starting with eight games in the opening week.

It also includes all the league’s marquee events; the NBA In-Season Tournament (NBA Cup), the Playoffs and finals, All-Star Weekend, and the Draft.

NBA on mobile, computer, tablet or console

If you want to watch the NBA on another platform, then you will need to download the Discovery+ app on whichever device you intend on watching it on.

If you’re a TNT Sports customer, you won’t have to worry about paying for a Discovery+ membership as one comes free with your TNT Sports TV package.

Through the Discovery+ app, you will be able to watch live games and on-demand coverage.

However, if you don’t have a TNT Sports package and/or don’t want to get one, there is one other way you can watch the NBA in the UK - the NBA League Pass.

NBA on TNT Sports

If you’re interested in watching the NBA this season and you don’t have TNT Sports already, be sure to get yourself set up now.

TNT Sports has a lot more to offer on top of the NBA, including fellow American pastime MLB baseball, plus Premier League football, exclusive rights to domestic European competition football (Champions League etc.,) rugby league and union, and lots more.

If you’re not already with BT/EE TV as your provider, you can find some great BT deals on the Digital TV site, some of which will have TNT Sports included.

If you already have EE TV but not TNT Sports, adding it on to your existing package is simple and easy. Simply head over to your account, look for where you can view your package, and from there you should have the option to add or remove any services you want/don’t want.

As for TV customers with Sky or Virgin Media, you can still access TNT Sports, as both provide add-ons that will gain you access to the TNT Sports channels while still keeping with them as your TV provider. 

Once again, adding the TNT Sports service to your Sky or Virgin Media TV package is an easy add-on that can be added and removed whenever you please.

What is NBA League Pass?

The NBA League Pass provides you with another way to view every game during the season. It includes:

• Live and on-demand games
• Multiple condensed game formats to make viewing key moments easier
• Access to NBA TV’s 24/7 stream
• Full game archives dating back to the 2012/13 season

It is available online, on mobile, consoles (Xbox and PlayStation) and connected devices, e.g. Amazon Fire TV.

Some restrictions do apply in certain countries but is fully available in the UK.

How much is NBA League Pass in the UK?

The League Pass is available for £99.99 for the season pass or £14.99 a month. You can also benefit from a seven-day trial before you commit to a paid membership.

You can also upgrade to the Premium League Pass, which lets you stream games on three devices at the same time as opposed to just one on the standard pass, as well as access to in-arena content during commercial breaks.

The Premium League Pass is available for £139.99 per season or £19.99 per month.

Additionally, if you’re only interested in watching your favourite team, you can purchase a single-team League Pass for £94.99 per season.