ESPN, TNT Set To Telecast NBA In-Season Tournament Knockout Stage

By R. Thomas Umstead
published

Monday-, Tuesday-night quarterfinal games to determine Final Four teams to play for title in Las Vegas

Miles McBride #2 of the New York Knicks runs out the clock as Nick Smith Jr. #8 of the Charlotte Hornets defends during the second half of an NBA In-Season Tournament game at Madison Square Garden on November 28, 2023
The New York Knicks survived against the Charlotte Hornets to advance in the NBA In-Season Tournament. (Image credit: Getty Images)

The inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament continues tonight (December 4) with a field of eight teams set to play single-elimination games to determine the semi-final and final-round participants to battle for the title later this week in Las Vegas.

TNT tipped off knockout-round tournament coverage Monday night with the Boston Celtics-Indiana Pacers and New Orleans Pelicans-Sacramento Kings games. ESPN on Tuesday airs the New York Knicks-Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns-Los Angeles Lakers games.

The winning teams will faceoff on Thursday (December 7), with ESPN televising the first semi-final game at 5 p.m. (ET) and TNT airing the second game at 9 p.m. (ET). ABC will air the in-season tournament final on December 9.

Teams not qualifying for the quarterfinal round will play games on December 6 and 8. Teams that lose in the quarterfinals will play each other later in the week, according to the league.

The month-long NBA in-season tournament has been a ratings success thus far for the league and networks. ESPN averaged 1.58 million viewers for six Friday tournament games in November, up 24% from the same period last year, according to SportsBusiness Journal. TNT averaged 1.32 million for four tournament games, up 7% from the network’s Tuesday night November average, according to SBJ.  

R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.