"How to Watch the 2026 NBA Playoffs From Anywhere in the World"

The 2026 NBA Playoffs tipped off on April 18 and run through the NBA Finals beginning June 3. This is the first postseason under the league's new 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal — TNT's nearly 40-year run with the NBA has ended, and the playoff slate is now divided across ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video in the United States, with regional partners holding rights everywhere else.

That reshuffle has a real consequence for fans: the platform that carries Game 1 in your country won't necessarily carry Game 2, and the streaming app that works at home won't work the moment you cross a border. If you're traveling, living abroad, or simply want a different country's commentary, you'll need to know exactly where each game is airing — and how to reach it.

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Official Broadcasting Rights by Country

United States

The 2025-26 season is the first under the new media deal, so the lineup looks very different from past playoffs.

Best option for full-series coverage: combining Peacock + Prime Video + ESPN Unlimited is the only way to follow every series live in the US without a cable package. Cord-cutters should expect to juggle at least two services.

Canada

National rights are split between the Sportsnet (Rogers) and TSN (Bell) families of channels. Both broadcasters simulcast the US feeds — ABC, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video — and produce dedicated Canadian feeds for any series involving the Toronto Raptors.

• Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ — Streaming and broadcast
• TSN and TSN+ — Streaming and broadcast
• Prime Video Canada — Carries the same Prime Video exclusives as the US

United Kingdom & Ireland

Sky Sports is the long-standing UK NBA partner.

• Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Action / Sky Sports+ — Live playoff games with British commentary
• NOW — Sky's no-contract streaming option with a Sports membership
• NBA League Pass — Available as an alternative for fans who want every out-of-market game without a Sky subscription

Japan

Japan's coverage runs through two services:

• Lemino (NTT Docomo) — Free and premium tiers, with significant playoff coverage including Japanese commentary
• Prime Video Japan — Carries the same Prime Video games as the US deal
• NBA Rakuten has historically been a major partner; check current availability for the 2026 postseason

Australia & New Zealand

• ESPN on Kayo Sports and Foxtel — The primary live home in Australia
• NBA League Pass — Widely used by Australian fans for full access
• 9Now does not carry NBA playoffs (despite owning Olympic rights)

Other Major Regions

NBA League Pass is the global fallback. It's available in nearly every country worldwide — with notable exceptions including mainland China, where access is restricted.

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How to Watch From Anywhere

If your home country's broadcaster isn't accessible from where you are right now, a VPN solves the problem by giving your device an IP address in another country.

Why You Might Need a VPN

• Traveling abroad — Your home Sportsnet, Sky, or Peacock subscription stops working the moment you connect to a hotel Wi-Fi network in another country
• Want different commentary — UK fans abroad missing Sky Sports' analysts, or Spanish-speaking viewers in Asia who want ESPN Latin America
• Avoid blackouts — Local-team games are sometimes blacked out on League Pass in the US even with a paid subscription
• ISP throttling — Some internet providers slow streaming traffic during major sporting events
• Public Wi-Fi security — Watching from airports, hotels, or cafes without encryption exposes your traffic

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Install Mosaic VPN on your device (phone, laptop, smart TV, tablet, or router)
2. Choose a server in the country whose broadcast you want:
   • US server → ABC, NBC, Prime Video, ESPN
   • Canada server → Sportsnet, TSN
   • UK server → Sky Sports / NOW
   • Japan server → Lemino
3. Connect and verify your IP shows the correct country
4. Sign into the streaming service (you'll typically need an account in that country, or a payment method that the service accepts)
5. Tip off — open the app or website and watch live

Which Country to Connect To

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Device Compatibility

All major NBA broadcasters support the standard streaming device lineup:

• Mobile — iOS and Android apps for ESPN, Peacock, Prime Video, Sky Sports, Sportsnet, NBA app
• Smart TVs — Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku, Chromecast, Samsung TV, LG TV
• Browsers — Desktop streaming on macOS, Windows, and Linux
• Gaming Consoles — PlayStation and Xbox apps for major broadcasters

Setting Up on Devices Without VPN Apps

For smart TVs, consoles, or older streaming sticks that don't run VPN apps directly:

1. Router-level VPN — Configure Mosaic VPN on a compatible router so every device on the network uses the encrypted tunnel automatically
2. Screen mirroring / casting — Mirror from a VPN-connected phone or laptop to your TV
3. HDMI passthrough — Plug a laptop running the VPN into your TV's HDMI port

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Key Dates and Schedule

The Conference Finals and the NBA Finals consistently rank among the most-watched live broadcasts in North America each year, regularly pulling more than 10 million US viewers per game.

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Avoid Illegal Streams

Every postseason brings a flood of pirate sites promising free playoff streams. Don't use them. Here's why:

• Malware risk — Pirate streaming sites are among the most common delivery vectors for malware, ransomware, and phishing
• Payment fraud — Many "free" streams demand credit card details for "verification" and silently enroll you in recurring charges
• Poor quality — Constant buffering and feed crashes during overtime, buzzer-beaters, and other moments you actually want to watch
• Legal exposure — Law enforcement in many countries actively targets pirate streaming operators and, in some jurisdictions, viewers

With NBA League Pass available in most countries, CCTV5 free in China, and free coverage on broadcast NBC/ABC in the US, there's no good reason to expose your device or financial details to a sketchy stream.

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Stay Secure While Streaming

Whether you're watching from home or a hotel room halfway around the world, Mosaic VPN keeps your stream both accessible and secure:

• AES-256 encryption protects your traffic on any network — hotel Wi-Fi, café hotspots, mobile data
• Low-overhead encrypted tunnel minimizes speed loss for smooth HD and 4K streaming, so a Game 7 buzzer-beater never freezes mid-shot
• Kill switch prevents data exposure if the VPN connection drops mid-game
• DNS leak protection keeps your actual location private from the streaming service
• Global server network with optimized servers in the US, Canada, UK, Japan, Australia, and dozens of other countries that hold NBA broadcasting rights

The 2026 NBA Playoffs run for roughly seven weeks of nightly basketball — overtime games, last-second shots, dynasties rising, dynasties falling. Don't let a geo-block, a hotel firewall, or a rights-deal reshuffle keep you from watching every minute.