Recent reports for the 2025-26 NBA season, which include the start of a new 11-year, $76 billion-plus media rights deal, have claimed record-setting viewership, though these figures are considered by some critics to be misleading or "inflated" due to changes in methodology, such as new "Big Data" metrics, that make comparisons to previous years difficult.

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Key Points Regarding Viewership Data:
- Reported Growth: The NBA reported that 170 million people in the U.S. watched regular-season games across all partners (ABC/ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, NBC/Peacock, and NBA TV), with viewership for nationally televised games reported as being up significantly—ranging from 35% to over 85% compared to the 2024-25 season.
- Methodology Changes: A major reason for the massive spike in reported numbers is a change in how Nielsen, the industry standard for ratings, measures viewership. They now use a "Big Data + Panel" method, incorporating data from smart TVs and streaming apps, which has raised viewership estimates across all sports.
- "People" vs. "Average Viewers": Critics, such as those at OutKick, argue the league is highlighting the total number of unique viewers (people who watched anypart of a game) rather than the standard average minute audience, which is what advertisers traditionally use.