Adam Silver: NBA fans who can’t afford streaming can watch games free via highlights  

The NBA is gearing up for the 2025-26 season. This will showcase its new TV deal, which relies heavily on streaming services.

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The NBA will be seen on ESPN, ABC, NBC, Amazon Prime Video, and Peacock streaming services this season. This has caused many fans to complain. Now, they will now have to pay for multiple streaming services just to watch the games.

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NBA commissioner Adam Silver was recently asked about this and his answer may have rubbed a few fans the wrong way.

“There’s a huge amount of our content that people can essentially consume for free,” Silver said. “This is very much a highlights-based sport. So, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, you name it, any service, the New York Times, for that matter, your content is not behind a paid firewall.

“There’s an enormous amount of content out there, YouTube, another example, that is advertising-based, that consumers can consume.”

As a fan of the game, this feels like a bad look. Having the NBA commissioner suggest that fans who can’t afford to watch games should settle for highlights on YouTube sends the wrong message. It suggests the league prioritizes profit over its loyal fan base.

About the Author Published Sep 11, 2025

TITAN FREY

Titan Frey is a dedicated father to three wonderful children, whom he takes immense pride in. His passions include reading, writing, basketball, both playing and watching, and playing chess. Titan spent five years working as a journalist for the basketball website fadeawayworld.net, where he served as editor-in-chief for four and a half years. One of his most notable achievements was interviewing Chuck Cooper III, the son of Chuck Cooper, the first African American ever drafted by an NBA team, and writing a biography that has been praised as the most definitive article about Cooper’s legacy. Titan is the author of more than ten novels and the screenwriter of three produced short films. His newest young adult novel, Echoes of the Hardwood: Braxton Foxworthy’s Time‑Travelling Book Report, blends basketball history with heartfelt storytelling and is now available. Order here: https://a.co/d/bo7BYz1