channel see nba tv canada . nba tv nba tv logo launched march 17 1999 owned by national basketball association operated by the turner broadcasting system time warner picture format 1080i hdtv hd feed downgraded to letterboxed 480i for sdtv sets slogan big games . big moments . country united states language english broadcast area nationwide headquarters atlanta georgia formerly called nba.com tv 1999 2003 website nbatv.com availability satellite directv 216 hd sd dish network 156 hd sd 9508 hd sa cisco powervu ; g 14 n central america caribbean 3820 v 30000 5 6 dvb s2 18 sd transponder 6 sa cisco powervu ; g 13 n central america caribbean 4160 v 29270 7 8 dvb s 3 hd 4 sd 5 test video ; sd transponder 23 big tv indonesia channel 957 bein middle east & north africa channel 26 hd 1 truevisions thailand channel 674 hd cable verizon fios 589 hd 89 sd available on most other u.s. cable systems consult your local cable provider for channel availability iptv at & t u verse 1632 hd 632 sd sky angel 331 sd nba tv is an american sports oriented cable and satellite television network that is owned by the national basketball association nba and operated by the turner broadcasting system subsidiary of time warner ; the nba also uses the network as a way of advertising the league s out of market sports package nba league pass and partner channel tnt . dedicated to basketball the network features exhibition regular season and playoff game telecasts from the nba and related professional basketball leagues as well as nba related content including analysis programs specials and documentaries . the network also serves as national broadcaster of the nba d league and wnba games . nba tv is the oldest cable network in north america to be owned or controlled by a professional sports league having launched on march 17 1999 . as of february 2015 nba tv is available to approximately 57 129 001 households that subscribe to cable satellite or telco television service totaling 49.1 % of households with at least one television set in the united states . 1 the highest measured audience was a golden state warriors vs san antonio spurs regular season game on april 10 2016 with an average 2.6 million viewers . 2 contents 1 history 2 carriage agreements 3 programming 3.1 list of programs broadcast by nba tv 4 high definition 5 personalities 5.1 studio hosts 5.2 studio analysts 5.3 contributors 5.4 other hosts 5.5 former hosts and analysts 6 nba tv international 6.1 criticism 7 see also 8 references 9 external links history edit the network launched on march 17 1999 as nba.com tv ; the channel which was renamed nba tv on february 11 2003 originally operated from studio facilities housed at nba entertainment in secaucus new jersey . the network signed a multi year carriage agreement with three of the u.s. s five largest cable providers cox communications cablevision and time warner cable on june 28 2003 ; this expanded the network s reach to 45 million pay television households in the u.s. in addition to distribution in 30 countries worldwide . after time warner shut down the sports news network cnn si in 2002 many cable providers replaced that network with nba tv . on october 8 2007 it was reported that the national basketball association would transfer the channel s operations to time warner s turner sports division operated by the company s turner broadcasting system subsidiary . in a story published by hoopsworld nbatv surprisingly there has been little said about the nba s decision to sell off nbatv to one of its media partners . talks had gone on for sometime sic as espn abc and turner both explored scenarios with the league . ultimately it seems turner has won out and will take over operation of the league s flagship cable channel that reaches some 12 million subscribers . the exact changeover date is not clear but several months ago a bloomberg report cited sources saying senior level producers were offered contract buyouts in september . turner took over the channel s operations on october 28 2008 and began using the same announcers and analysts used on tnt s nba telecasts . 3 analysis and news programming also received an upgrade with production of the programs being relocated to studio b at turner studios in atlanta georgia located adjacent to studio j where tnt s post game program inside the nba is broadcast . carriage agreements edit on april 16 2009 directv announced that it had reached a carriage agreement with the nba to continue carrying nba tv moving it and out of market sports package nba league pass from the satellite provider s sports pack add on tier to its lower priced choice xtra base package on october 1 2009 . directv believed the move will make the channel available to an additional eight million subscribers . 4 on june 4 2009 comcast announced that it had reached an agreement with the nba to move the channel from the cable provider s sports entertainment package to its basic level digital classic package by the start of the 2009 10 nba season . like directv comcast estimated that an additional eight million customers would effectively gain access to the channel . 5 verizon fios added the channel and nba league pass to its systems on september 23 2009 . 6 the network also signed new multi year agreements with time warner cable cablevision and dish network on october 22 2009 as well as a renewal agreement with cox communications earlier in the year . 6 with all of the above carriage deals the nba estimates that it would increase nba tv s overall subscriber reach to 45 million cable and satellite television homes . 6 on october 29 2010 at & t u verse reached a carriage deal to carry the channel s standard definition and high definition feeds . 7 nba tv is not currently available on charter communications which carried the network as nba.com tv prior to 2004 due to unknown carriage conflicts ; nba league pass is also not carried by charter . on may 18 2016 charter acquired time warner cable and bright house networks for 78.7 billion ; as twc and bright house both carry nba tv it is unknown if this will have an effect on the channel s status on the latter two carriers or if this merger ultimately leads to charter added nba tv onto its pre existing markets . programming edit nba tv offers news programs devoted to basketball daily in addition to programs showcasing the lives of individual basketball players documentaries focusing on a particular nba team during the season and archived broadcasts of well known games . nba tv carries at least 90 regular season games per season which typically air four days a week during the nba season mainly on mondays tuesdays and saturdays although occasional wednesday friday and sunday games may air in the event that espn does not hold rights to coverage on those nights as well as some first round playoff games . live games on nba tv are subject to local blackout restrictions since nba tv despite being owned by the league does not hold the exclusive broadcast rights to any of its games . games carried by nba tv are also carried by each team s local rights holder either a regional sports network or a broadcast television station . beginning with the 2012 13 season the score box displayed during nba tv s game coverage which was seen on the lower left hand corner of the screen changed to a banner format oriented horizontally across the screen . however the network does not use timeout or bonus indicators like that seen on the score graphics used on espn and tnt . the network also shows international games typically on saturday evenings with special emphasis on the euroleague and the maccabi tel aviv team from israel . in april 2005 nba tv televised the chinese basketball association finals for the first time . 8 the channel s flagship program is nba gametime live a program focusing on news headlines within the nba and related leagues including the wnba and the national basketball development league highlights and look ins at games currently in progress presented by a host and studio analysts . the show airs live six days a week deferring on thursday nights to tnt and not airing that evening . an edited 90 minute version of the broadcast is repeated during the overnight and early morning hours . the network premiered the original documentary the dream team on june 13 2013 . list of programs broadcast by nba tv edit the beat courtside cinema hardwood classics inside the nba encore telecasts within 12 hours of original airing on tnt making the call nba action nba gametime live nba gametime live specials e.g. mock draft free agent updates season previews trade deadline updates playoff previews nba.com fantasy insider nba in 30 nba inside stuff nba tv marquee matchup nba tv originals one on one with ahmad rash d open court playoff playback shaqtin a fool the starters wnba action high definition edit nba tv hd is a 1080i high definition simulcast feed of nba tv that is available on most providers . all studio programs and original programs are shot in hd and all live games and recent game rebroadcasts are televised in hd . during certain programs that are not available in hd such as older game footage unique stylized pillarboxes are used displaying the nba logo with the nba tv text under it or alternatively just the nba tv text oriented sideways both shown in black and gray . on december 25 2011 concurrent with tnt converting its nba telecasts to the format nba tv began using the afd 10 broadcast flag to present programming on its standard definition feed in letterboxed widescreen for viewers watching on cable television through 4 3 television sets . personalities edit the studio host and analysts vary on each night s broadcast of nba gametime . studio hosts edit vince cellini 2010 present beau estes 2010 present bob fiscella 2009 present jared greenberg 2011 present rick kamla 2002 present ernie johnson 2008 present ahmad rashad 2006 present larry smith 2010 present matt winer 2010 present studio analysts edit david aldridge 2008 present greg anthony 2010 present brent barry 2009 present 9 charles barkley 2008 present derrick coleman 2009 present vinny del negro 2013 present rick fox 2010 present mike fratello 2008 present bernard king 2008 present brevin knight 2011 present rick mahorn 2011 present cheryl miller 2008 present shaquille o neal 2011 present scot pollard 2009 present dennis scott 2009 present kenny smith 2008 present steve smith 2008 present jerry stackhouse 2010 present isiah thomas 2012 present chris webber 2008 present contributors edit joe borgia scoop jackson michael mccann 10 dr. phil mcdonald sekou smith lang whitaker other hosts edit the starters leigh ellis trey kerby tas melas j. e. skeets nba inside stuff grant hill kristen ledlow former hosts and analysts edit andre aldridge 2005 2009 antonio davis 2008 2012 laphonso ellis 2009 marc fein 2008 2011 lawrence frank 2010 matt harpring 2010 lionel hollins 2013 eddie jordan 2008 2009 tracy mcgrady 2013 kevin mchale 2009 2011 sam mitchell 2008 2010 ; 2013 kyle montgomery 11 2009 2013 gary payton 2008 2009 byron scott 2013 eric snow 2008 2010 reggie theus 2008 2009 syleys roberts 2012 2015 nba tv international edit nba tv international is a feed of nba tv available in countries outside of the united states utilizing the same studio for analysis and commentary segments and taped programming except for fiba events and highlights but largely airs a different lineup of games than the u.s. channel . nba tv international shows one or two games per