NBA's Amazon Prime Playoff Decision Sparks Major Fan Backlash
As part of the NBA's new multi-billion media rights deal, three of Saturday's four NBA playoff games were broadcast exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
Fans without a Prime Video subscription were left in the dark for three Game 1 matchups: the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors, the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Denver Nuggets and the Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks.
The final game of the night - the Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers - aired on ESPN/ABC.
Countless NBA fans flooded social media with negative reactions to this broadcast schedule.
"NBA playoffs opening with 3 games on Amazon Prime is beyond stupid," one fan wrote.
"The NBA Playoffs on Amazon Prime is trash," another said.
"Somebody tell Adam Silver the NBA's early playoff schedule is a joke: The first 9 games (Tue-Sat) are only on Prime Video. For most of us, no problem. But a major inconvenience for many, if they even bother. It's called denying the product. Brilliant," another added.
"3/4 of the nba playoffs games starting today being on Amazon prime is nasty work if we're being honest . Not everyone has prime and if they do you can't even watch anything else without exiting the app completely," another wrote.
THE NBA PLAYOFFS ARE SET
— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) April 18, 2026
Watch the first day of action on @primevideo, coverage starts at 12 PM ET pic.twitter.com/hbQOCzcAkz
The NBA playoffs will continue with four more games on Sunday.
The Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns vs. Oklahoma City Thunder will be broadcast on ESPN/ABC.
The Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons and Portland Trail Blazers vs. San Antonio Spurs will be broadcast exclusively on Peacock.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the Sports section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 3:10 AM.