{"id":82296,"date":"2026-04-22T23:15:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/nba-playoffs-2026-first-round-matchups-tv-schedule-how-to-watch-tonights-games\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T23:15:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:15:49","slug":"nba-playoffs-2026-first-round-matchups-tv-schedule-how-to-watch-tonights-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/nba-playoffs-2026-first-round-matchups-tv-schedule-how-to-watch-tonights-games\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Playoffs 2026: First-Round Matchups, TV Schedule, How to Watch Tonight&#8217;s Games"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<section>\n<div data-cy=\"listiclePrecap\" data-location=\"PRECAP\" section=\"listicle\" class=\"c-shortcodeListiclePrecap c-shortcodeListiclePrecap-hide g-outer-spacing-bottom-large\"><!----> <!----> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<div data-location=\"PRECAP\" data-cy=\"listiclePrecapItem\" data-position=\"3\" section=\"precap\" class=\"c-shortcodeListicleHtwPrecapItem c-shortcodeListiclePrecap_item\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicleHtwPrecapItem_container u-grid-columns\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicleHtwPrecapItem_productInfoContainer\">See at ESPN <\/p>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicleHtwPrecapItem_imageWrap md:u-col-1\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"c-cmsImage c-shortcodeListicleHtwPrecapItem_image\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage_image c-cmsImage-loaded\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/a\/img\/resize\/bd0110af156b3249c9e66ffcb36f999c63e81821\/hub\/2025\/09\/08\/5b44aad0-9ed2-4c00-8ba0-40e058d745ff\/espn.jpg?auto=webp&amp;fit=crop&amp;height=144&amp;width=144\" alt=\"ESPN\"><source media=\"(max-width: 1440px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/a\/img\/resize\/ade4890779ba11c6a6eb53fe254fbae00d3bc739\/hub\/2025\/09\/08\/5b44aad0-9ed2-4c00-8ba0-40e058d745ff\/espn.jpg?auto=webp&amp;fit=crop&amp;height=170&amp;width=300\" alt=\"ESPN\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/a\/img\/resize\/ade4890779ba11c6a6eb53fe254fbae00d3bc739\/hub\/2025\/09\/08\/5b44aad0-9ed2-4c00-8ba0-40e058d745ff\/espn.jpg?auto=webp&amp;fit=crop&amp;height=170&amp;width=300\" alt=\"ESPN\" height=\"170\" width=\"300\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicleHtwPrecapItem_details md:u-col-3 lg:u-col-7\"><!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<p>NBA playoffs for $30 a month<\/p>\n<p>ESPN Unlimited<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!----> <!----> <!----><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p> <!----> <!----> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<nav class=\"c-globalToc\"> <\/nav>\n<p> <!----><\/p>\n<p class=\"u-speakableText-p1\">The NBA playoffs started right on time earlier this month, but while the playoff calendar hasn&#8217;t changed this year, the broadcast schedule has shifted for the 2026 playoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!----><\/p>\n<p class=\"u-speakableText-p2\">Under the NBA&#8217;s new media-rights deal, games this season were split across its three broadcast partners: Disney (ABC\/ESPN), Comcast (NBC\/Peacock) and Amazon (Prime Video). Each of these three entities has a part of the playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what you need to know to watch the 2026 NBA playoffs in this new streaming era for professional basketball.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-shortcodeImage u-clearfix c-shortcodeImage-large c-shortcodeImage-hasCaption\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeImage_imageContainer\"><!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"c-cmsImage c-shortcodeImage_image\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage_image\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/a\/img\/resize\/fa442f3be5c1c29e69651ac8574f468fb620bb44\/hub\/2026\/04\/22\/7a044d0e-d74b-430e-b27b-03f4c8b169ca\/gettyimages-2271607660.jpg?auto=webp&amp;width=768\" alt=\"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder dribbles the ball past a Phoenix Suns opponent. This was during Round One Game One of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on April 19, 2026, at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.\"><source media=\"(max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/a\/img\/resize\/a7305cbcbcc5811d1ed8f6a05cdb7d027f193a36\/hub\/2026\/04\/22\/7a044d0e-d74b-430e-b27b-03f4c8b169ca\/gettyimages-2271607660.jpg?auto=webp&amp;width=1024\" alt=\"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder dribbles the ball past a Phoenix Suns opponent. This was during Round One Game One of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on April 19, 2026, at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.\"><source media=\"(max-width: 1440px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/a\/img\/resize\/916f7d865faf731dbaad0a02e1c6b6b97b70daa7\/hub\/2026\/04\/22\/7a044d0e-d74b-430e-b27b-03f4c8b169ca\/gettyimages-2271607660.jpg?auto=webp&amp;width=1200\" alt=\"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder dribbles the ball past a Phoenix Suns opponent. This was during Round One Game One of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on April 19, 2026, at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\" alt=\"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder dribbles the ball past a Phoenix Suns opponent. This was during Round One Game One of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on April 19, 2026, at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.\" height=\"799.21875\" width=\"1200\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<p> <!----> <!----><\/div><figcaption><span class=\"c-shortcodeImage_caption g-inner-spacing-right-small g-text-xxsmall\"><\/p>\n<p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder have a first-round matchup against the Phoenix Suns as they attempt to repeat as NBA champions.<\/p>\n<p><\/span> <span class=\"c-shortcodeImage_credit g-inner-spacing-right-small g-outer-spacing-top-xsmall g-color-text-meta g-text-xxxsmall\">Zach Beeker\/NBAE\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><!----><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"toc-64948105-acaa-4eba-8a3f-c591e084a9fd-item-1\">How to watch the NBA playoffs<\/h2>\n<p>The channel lineup needed for the NBA playoffs is different this year. Gone are games on TNT and NBA TV. Instead, you&#8217;ll need a TV subscription that has ABC, ESPN, NBC and NBC Sports Network &#8212; plus Amazon Prime. Or you can go the streaming route and use Prime Video, Peacock and ESPN Unlimited.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>NBC\/Peacock has the most first-round coverage. It will show up to 23 first-round games and 11 second-round games as well as the Western Conference Finals. Every one of its games will stream on Peacock and also be shown on either NBC or NBCSN.<\/p>\n<p>The rest of the first round games will be split between ESPN\/ABC and Prime Video. This year&#8217;s Eastern Conference finals will be on ESPN\/ABC. And in June, the NBA Finals will be broadcast on ABC.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>You can see all of the first-round matchups and TV schedule here.<\/p>\n<div id=\"222818c1-1a2c-420e-bf50-ec1d0061c950\" data-cy=\"shortcodeListicle\" data-id=\"listicle-222818c1-1a2c-420e-bf50-ec1d0061c950\" data-location=\"LIST\" data-position=\"1\" class=\"c-shortcodeListicle g-border-thin-light-top g-inner-spacing-bottom-medium g-inner-spacing-left-large g-inner-spacing-right-large g-inner-spacing-bottom-xlarge c-shortcodeListicle-notInfoCard g-outer-spacing-bottom-large g-border-thin-light-bottom g-border-thin-light-right g-border-thin-light-left\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicleImage\"><!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-shortcodeListicleImage_image\">\n<div class=\"c-cmsImage\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage_image\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\" alt=\"\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure><figcaption class=\"c-shortcodeListicleImage_credit g-outer-spacing-bottom-medium\"><span class=\"g-color-text-meta u-inline-block g-text-xxxsmall\">Peacock\/CNET<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicle_text\"><!---->  <!----> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicle_dek c-shortcodeListicleDek c-shortcodeListicleDek-inline g-outer-spacing-bottom-medium\"><!----> <\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"c-ShortcodeContent c-ShortcodeContent-theme:default sm:u-col-2 md:u-col-6 lg:u-col-12\">\n<p>Peacock will stream NBA playoff games from the first round through the Western Conference Finals. Games on Peacock will also appear on NBC or NBC Sports Network, so you don&#8217;t necessarily need Peacock to have access to every NBA playoff game.<\/p>\n<p>You can stream every NBA playoff broadcast with Peacock&#8217;s $11-a-month Premium plan. Read our Peacock review.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!----> <!----><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!----> <\/div>\n<div id=\"12e11d0a-c0d5-4c8d-9c52-c5769d1aa10c\" data-cy=\"shortcodeListicle\" data-id=\"listicle-12e11d0a-c0d5-4c8d-9c52-c5769d1aa10c\" data-location=\"LIST\" data-position=\"2\" class=\"c-shortcodeListicle g-border-thin-light-top g-inner-spacing-bottom-medium g-inner-spacing-left-large g-inner-spacing-right-large g-inner-spacing-bottom-xlarge c-shortcodeListicle-notInfoCard g-outer-spacing-bottom-large g-border-thin-light-bottom g-border-thin-light-right g-border-thin-light-left\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicleImage\"><!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-shortcodeListicleImage_image\">\n<div class=\"c-cmsImage\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage_image\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\" alt=\"\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure><figcaption class=\"c-shortcodeListicleImage_credit g-outer-spacing-bottom-medium\"><span class=\"g-color-text-meta u-inline-block g-text-xxxsmall\">CNET<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicle_text\"><!---->  <!----> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicle_dek c-shortcodeListicleDek c-shortcodeListicleDek-inline g-outer-spacing-bottom-medium\"><!----> <\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"c-ShortcodeContent c-ShortcodeContent-theme:default sm:u-col-2 md:u-col-6 lg:u-col-12\">\n<p>Prime Video will show first- and second-round games through May 17.<\/p>\n<p>Prime Video is included with an Amazon Prime subscription for $15 a month or $139 a year. You can also subscribe only to <span class=\"c-shortcodeCommerceLink\">Prime Video<\/span> for $9 a month. Read our Prime Video review.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!----> <!----><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!----> <\/div>\n<div id=\"78eb1f22-72f3-4614-92de-8b0e155f03ef\" data-cy=\"shortcodeListicle\" data-id=\"listicle-78eb1f22-72f3-4614-92de-8b0e155f03ef\" data-location=\"LIST\" data-position=\"3\" class=\"c-shortcodeListicle g-border-thin-light-top g-inner-spacing-bottom-medium g-inner-spacing-left-large g-inner-spacing-right-large g-inner-spacing-bottom-xlarge c-shortcodeListicle-notInfoCard g-outer-spacing-bottom-large g-border-thin-light-bottom g-border-thin-light-right g-border-thin-light-left\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicleImage\"><!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-shortcodeListicleImage_image\">\n<div class=\"c-cmsImage\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage_image\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\" alt=\"\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure><figcaption class=\"c-shortcodeListicleImage_credit g-outer-spacing-bottom-medium\"><span class=\"g-color-text-meta u-inline-block g-text-xxxsmall\">Zooey Liao\/CNET<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicle_text\"><!---->  <!----> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicle_dek c-shortcodeListicleDek c-shortcodeListicleDek-inline g-outer-spacing-bottom-medium\"><!----> <\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"c-ShortcodeContent c-ShortcodeContent-theme:default sm:u-col-2 md:u-col-6 lg:u-col-12\">\n<p>With ESPN Unlimited, you can watch every NBA playoff game that&#8217;s on ESPN or ABC. It will have coverage for every round of the playoffs, including the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals.<\/p>\n<p>The ESPN Unlimited plan costs $30 a month (or $300 a year) and lets you stream all of ESPN&#8217;s linear networks: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network and ACC Network. You also get access to programming on ESPN on ABC, ESPN Plus, ESPN3, SECN Plus and ACCNX. Read our ESPN Unlimited review.<\/p>\n<p>(There&#8217;s also a $13-a-month ESPN Select plan, which is basically a rebranding of ESPN Plus. With it, you&#8217;ll have access to thousands of live games &#8212; think small college conferences, whose games you can&#8217;t watch anywhere else &#8212; but not the NBA.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!----> <!----><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!----> <\/div>\n<h2 id=\"toc-64948105-acaa-4eba-8a3f-c591e084a9fd-item-2\">Best live TV streaming service for the NBA Playoffs<\/h2>\n<p>If you are already an Amazon Prime subscriber, then you just need four TV channels to get full coverage of the NBA playoffs: ABC, ESPN, NBC and NBC Sports Network. The catch is NBCSN, which Comcast just relaunched late last year ahead of its coverage of the Winter Olympics.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The five major live TV streaming services &#8212; <span section=\"shortcodeLink\"><span>DirecTV<\/span><\/span>, <span section=\"shortcodeLink\"><span>Fubo<\/span><\/span>, <span section=\"shortcodeLink\"><span>Hulu Plus Live TV,<\/span><\/span> <span section=\"shortcodeLink\"><span>Sling<\/span><\/span> and <span section=\"shortcodeLink\"><span>YouTube TV<\/span><\/span> &#8212; each carry ABC, NBC and ESPN, but I can find NBCSN only on YouTube TV&#8217;s channel listings. So, that&#8217;s the pick for the NBA playoffs if you don&#8217;t want to miss a game.<\/p>\n<div id=\"1650a094-4048-472c-8a1f-52fc31fb446d\" data-cy=\"shortcodeListicle\" data-id=\"listicle-1650a094-4048-472c-8a1f-52fc31fb446d\" data-location=\"LIST\" data-position=\"4\" class=\"c-shortcodeListicle g-border-thin-light-top g-inner-spacing-bottom-medium g-inner-spacing-left-large g-inner-spacing-right-large g-inner-spacing-bottom-xlarge c-shortcodeListicle-notInfoCard g-outer-spacing-bottom-large g-border-thin-light-bottom g-border-thin-light-right g-border-thin-light-left\">\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicleImage\"><!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<figure class=\"c-shortcodeListicleImage_image\">\n<div class=\"c-cmsImage\"><picture class=\"c-cmsImage_image\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\" alt=\"\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure><figcaption class=\"c-shortcodeListicleImage_credit g-outer-spacing-bottom-medium\"><span class=\"g-color-text-meta u-inline-block g-text-xxxsmall\">YouTube TV<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicle_text\"><!---->  <!----> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"c-shortcodeListicle_dek c-shortcodeListicleDek c-shortcodeListicleDek-inline g-outer-spacing-bottom-medium\"><!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"u-inline\">\n<div class=\"c-ShortcodeContent c-ShortcodeContent-theme:default sm:u-col-2 md:u-col-6 lg:u-col-12\">\n<p>YouTube TV costs $83 a month and includes ABC, ESPN, NBC and NBC Sports Network. Plug in your ZIP code on YouTube TV&#8217;s\u00a0welcome page\u00a0to see which local networks are available in your area. There is a five-day trial, and the first three months are discounted to $68 a month for new subscribers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"u-inline\">Read our YouTube TV review<span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <!----><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!----> <\/div>\n<p>Live TV streaming services allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live\u00a0TV streaming services guide\u00a0and our picks for the\u00a0best sports streaming services.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n      (function() {\n        window.zdconsent = window.zdconsent || {run:[],cmd:[],useractioncomplete:[],analytics:[],functional:[],social:[]};\n        window.zdconsent.cmd = window.zdconsent.cmd || [];\n        window.zdconsent.cmd.push(function() {\n          !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n          {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n          n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n          if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n          n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n          t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n          s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n          'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n          fbq('set', 'autoConfig', false, '789754228632403');\n          fbq('init', '789754228632403');\n        });\n      })();\n    <\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>See at ESPN NBA playoffs for $30 a month ESPN Unlimited The NBA playoffs started right on time earlier this month, but while the playoff calendar hasn&#8217;t changed this year, the broadcast schedule has shifted for the 2026 playoffs.\u00a0 Under the NBA&#8217;s new media-rights deal, games this season were split across its three broadcast partners: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":82297,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_daextam_enable_autolinks":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/gettyimages-2271607660.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}