• Loading stock data...
Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Saturday Nights Evolving Into Marquee NBA Night for ESPN and ABC

Photo credit: ESPN Media Zone
saturday-nba-espn-abc

Image via ESPN Media Zone

Back for its fourth season, ESPN’s NBA Saturday Primetime will premiere this Saturday on ABC with a matchup between two of the league’s flashiest franchises in the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers.

“I think you’re going to see a great presentation of NBA basketball from a production standpoint, and from a standpoint of the best the NBA has to offer, in terms of teams and players,” said Doug White, senior director of programming and acquisitions at ESPN. “It really encapsulates everything that’s great about the NBA.”

The series will continue throughout the rest of the season, with a marquee matchup on ABC each Saturday. This week, the Rockets and Lakers face off with Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson and Lisa Salters leading the broadcast crew.

“The league itself does great job collaborating with us and working on the schedule,” White said. “If anything, in terms of the way the league works with us, it’s that we’ve been able to make sure we put a good product forth for our viewers and fans.”

LISTEN: Rob Perez’s Journey from Ticketing Entrepreneur to NBA Personality

Saturday will also feature a matinee version of NBA Saturday Primetime with a game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, called by Mark Jones, Hubie Brown and Israel Gutierrez.

“You never know what’s going to happen that far out, but what you can probably say is that some of the teams you see on Saturday nights will be the teams in contention, and will be the teams — in all likelihood — vying once we get to the playoffs,” White said.

The usual NBA Countdown crew of Michelle Beadle, Paul Pierce, Chauncey Billups and Jalen Rose will hold down the fort during pregame and halftime each night.

Despite this Saturday being the first broadcast of NBA Saturday Primetime this season, White said that the ESPN team is in full swing, from its producers to its broadcasters.

“It’s not practice for us,” he said. “These are real, live games, and although the Finals is the culmination of everything, our guys already have their chemistry down, from Mark Jackson, Mike Breen, Lisa Salters, Doris Burke—they’ve all worked together for a number of years.”

[mc4wp_form id=”8260″]

Between the NFL’s Monday Night Football and MLB’s Sunday Night Baseball, certain days of the week have essentially become synonymous with big-time matchups in other professional leagues. Though NBA games receive high ratings when they are broadcast on the popular networks like ESPN, ABC and TNT, there hasn’t traditionally been one major matchup of the week like in the NFL and MLB.

That’s why, as White explained, ESPN has made it a goal to turn Saturday night into the primary must-watch time slot for NBA fans.

“Definitely, from our standpoint, this is our marquee night of the week, and we treat it as such,” he said. “We do put some additional bells and whistles on it, so it does stand out a little bit from a presentation standpoint.”

So far this season, ESPN and ABC have been a powerhouse pairing during NBA broadcasts, with ABC averaging 7,100,000 viewers (up five percent from last season) and ESPN averaging 1,761,000 viewers. Although ESPN’s numbers are down 4 percent from last season, the network has seen a seven percent increase from two years prior at this time of the year.

SEE MORE: New NBA Sneaker Rule Opens Up a Rainbow of Opportunities 

“We’re all part of the Walt Disney company, so we work very much in tandem with our ABC stations,” White said. “It’s pretty seamless, and we’ve been doing it for so long together… We’ve learned that people will tune in, and people will come for big-time matchups, and that Saturday night is a great platform to present that to fans.”

Although it’s yet to be determined what the final viewership numbers will look like at the end of this season, ESPN’s increased emphasis on NBA Saturday Primetime — paired with the NBA’s drama-filled season thus far — appears to be the formula for successful ratings.

“We’re bullish on this year and the NBA overall,” White said. “It’s a very healthy league, and it’s popular with the fans and all demos. We think, for this year in particular, it’s an exciting year. There’s been great drama that gets played out. It’s like a gift that you unwrap all season long to find out who will be there at the end.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

MLB Home Run Derby Draws 5.7M Viewers on ESPN, Up 5%

ESPN reverses the trend from last year and registers audience growth.
Jul 14, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) bats during the 2025 Home Run Derby at Truist Park.

MLB Enters Crucial Second Half With Big Questions Looming

Media, labor, and Cal Raleigh are among the top second-half storylines.
Cal Raleigh

Home Run Derby Came Down to a 1-Inch Hawk-Eye Measurement

One expert is skeptical that the measurement could be that precise.

Featured Today

May 31, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sydney McLaughin-Levrone (USA) reacts before the women's 100m hurdles during the Grand Slam Track Philadelphia at Franklin Field
exclusive

Track’s New Money Is Running Into Old Problems

The sport’s big-money era has hit some speed bumps in 2025.
Bobbleheads are seen at Vintage Indy Sports, Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in Speedway. The local sports memorabilia store opened recently.
July 12, 2025

Baseball’s Bobbleheads Are the Center of the Collectibles Universe

Baseball’s most important keepsake drives long lines—and big business.
Rimouski, QC - JUNE 1: Final Game of the 2025 Memorial Cup between the Medicine Hats Tigers and the London Knights on June 1, 2025, at the Colisée Financière Sun Life in Rimouski, Qc.
July 11, 2025

CHL Is Facing a ‘Pandora’s Box’ of Questions Amid NCAA Talent Departure

As players defect to college, the Canadian Hockey League won’t cede ground.
Jun 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) bats during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field.
July 9, 2025

The Torpedo Bat Business Is Still Going Strong: ‘Here to Stay’

Demand for the oddly shaped bats has stayed strong across the sport.

WNBA Hits Fourth-Highest ABC Viewership With Clark-Bueckers Duel

Clark missed the first Fever vs. Wings game with an injury.
NBC Sports
exclusive
July 14, 2025

NBC Hiring Ex-Hawks Exec Grant Liffmann As NBA Front Office Insider

Liffmann spent the last three years with Atlanta after covering the Warriors.
Brittney Griner and Caitlin Clark
exclusive
July 15, 2025

‘Good Morning America’ Will Air From WNBA All-Star in First

The All-Star Game’s relevance has exploded with the league in recent years.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
F1
July 11, 2025

F1 ‘Poised’ to Choose Apple Money Over ESPN Reach

Formula One looks to be changing lanes.
Jul 10, 2025; Wimbledon, United Kingdom; Iga Swiatek of Poland at her on court interview after winning her match against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland on day 11 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
July 10, 2025

Wimbledon Set to Deliver Strong Finals Matchup for ESPN

Novak Djokovic is still in the hunt for his 25th Grand Slam.
Paige Bueckers
exclusive
July 8, 2025

Women’s March Madness Expansion Wouldn’t Yield More ESPN Money

ESPN is not required to pay extra if women’s March Madness expands.
Feb 7, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies center Tarris Reed Jr. (5) reacts after his basket against the St. John's Red Storm in the first half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.
July 8, 2025

After Decade Apart, ESPN and Big East Rekindle Media Rights Relationship

After a decade-plus apart, the network will stream hundreds of conference events.