Adam Silver sent NBA Twitter into a frenzy Wednesday when commenting on the realities consumers face in watching NBA regular-season games.
Fresh off a new broadcasting rights agreement, the NBA is welcoming some different networks this upcoming season. NBC, Peacock and streaming platform Amazon Prime are joining previously established networks ESPN and ABC.
It leaves fans in the unenviable position of needing to pay for all these platforms to regularly watch nationally televised games. Paying just for those networks amounts to $55.97/month and can cost a fraction less if paid annually.
If you’re a die-hard NBA fan, then you’re looking at NBA League Pass as well. The league’s streaming platform currently offers the season for $129.99 on one device or $184.99 on three devices. If you’re a fan of other sports like football and baseball and want NFL Sunday Ticket or MLB.TV or both, you’ll need to be rich.
We haven’t even gotten into other streaming platforms for movies and shows like Netflix. This is solely the cost of being a sports fan.
“Most people can only consume so many games,” Silver said when asked about increasing consumer costs. “In these new media deals, we’re going essentially from 15 exposures on broadcast television to 75. To the extent someone wants to put a little rabbit ears on their television, you can still therefore get 75 marquee games in essence for free in the marketplace. In addition to that, there’s a huge amount of our content that people can essentially consume for free. This is very much a highlights-based sport, so Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, you name it…
“There’s an enormous amount of content out there.”
Adam Silver says fans who can’t afford streaming services to watch NBA games can still watch free highlights, calling the NBA a “highlight sport.”
(h/t @ohnohedidnt24 )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 10, 2025
What Did Adam Silver Get Wrong?
Fans took issue in particular with Silver emphasizing basketball is a “highlights-based sport.” He also insinuated watching Instagram and TikTok clips is an adequate alternative for those who can’t afford to pay for all those broadcast networks.
One would think Silver would look to promote and encourage watching full games on these new networks. That in itself was a massive miss the likes of Amazon Prime and Peacock shouldn’t be too pleased about.
It should also be recognized Silver’s tenure has been at the forefront of promoting the game on social media. The league has 90.8 million followers on Instagram, nearly three times that of the NFL, 7.5 times the MLB’s 12.6 million followers and 18 times the MLS.
The NBA set a record with 124 billion video views across its social media channels during the 2024-25 season. That was a 67 percent increase from the previous season. Over 70 percent of the NBA’s social media following is believed to be international fans, another emphasis of Silver’s tenure.
People may not like it but he is winning the game he wants to play.
Silver Should Be Focused On More Than Social Media
It can also be true this isn’t the only game he should be looking to play. Basketball is so much more than just highlights and the commissioner should be front of the line in championing that idea.
The ebbs and flows of a game aren’t captured by highlights. The context of a key player landing in early foul trouble or coaching adjustments that alter the course of a game are vital pieces in fully appreciating the league. Not to mention, the way in which commentators may add edutainment can be an indelible part of the viewing experience.
Watching a game in its entirety is what makes fans smarter. That’s better, not just for those concerned with viewership, but especially those looking to elevate their own level of play. It is so much more than solely dunks and threes.
Some of the most popular forms of analysis are the people diving deeper. The Ringer’s Zach Lowe is a prime example of media personalities who dig into the nuances of the game. LeBron James’ Mind The Game podcast shows there is an audience looking to be more deeply educated.
That’s not possible without watching full games.
Silver Buried The Lede
The biggest problem with Silver’s answer is he saved the most important and best part of his answer for last.
“We think a lot about it,” Silver said with regards to fans potentially being priced out. “We know we have mass appeal on a global basis, we’re literally reaching billions of people and we don’t want to disenfranchise people by working with partners that are creating price points that make it inaccessible to them.”
If Silver says this and this alone, NBA Twitter is probably heaping a ton of praise. This is where it’s on social media, too, to present Silver’s thoughts in the right way.
Silver’s comments about watching highlights were bound to go viral, so that’s what social media ran with. This portion of the answer can only be seen if you watch the press conference in its entirety. It would also help if said press conference wasn’t seemingly only available on Facebook.
Yes, Silver was still wrong to promote his league as a “highlights-based sport.” At least with this portion of the answer, we can see he is aware of not wanting to lose fans due to extreme costs.
We are in a day and age where fans are regularly feeling shafted. Ticket prices have spiked at astronomical rates while being tagged with an increasing risk the best players won’t play. All-Star Weekend has become a corporate activation and influencer sham.
The last thing frugal fans need to be told is to settle for highlights.
