With LeBron James joining the Sixers, NBC Sports Philadelphia looks to staff up
While the Sixers are expected to max out with national games, NBC Sports Philadelphia will broadcast the bulk of LeBron's first season in Philly.
Like everyone else, Sixers announcer Alaa Abdelnaby was shocked when news broke LeBron James was coming to Philadelphia.
Now he’s settling into the reality of calling games featuring the future Hall of Famer, who passed up a return to Cleveland to sign a two-year deal with the Sixers.
“I don’t think it was a farewell swan song he was looking for,” Abdelnaby said. “He’s still looking to win.”
It’s a wild swing for Abdelnaby, who is entering his 11th season calling Sixers games. His was hired in the middle of “The Process” and Philly lost 72 games during his first season as a color analyst. Now the team is coming off an exciting playoff upset of the Boston Celtics and added two superstars in James and Jaylen Brown.
“In Philadelphia we’re not used to having nice things,” Abdelnaby joked. “All eyes are going to be on you. I think everybody has to pick up their game a little bit.”
That’s true for the network as well. Alexandra Matcham, the vice president of content for NBC Sports Philadelphia, said they are currently budgeting in hopes of staffing up leading up to the season.
“If you get a generational talent on your team, it could easily become a situation where the people that work for us are burnt out by December, and you don’t want that,” Matcham said. “You need extra help.”
That’s a welcome change in an era where regional sports networks like NBC Sports Philadelphia have been hit hard by cord cutting. How things shape up remains unclear, but Matcham said there are several possibilities leading up to the season.
“It’d be helpful if somebody who’s followed and covered him were on our staff,” Matcham said. “Maybe we add people like that.”
For years, NBC Sports Philadelphia and its predecessor, Comcast SportsNet, turned to reporters like Serena Winters and Taryn Hatcher for its Sixers broadcasts. Right now, the network is brainstorming whether to add a third voice alongside Abdelnaby and play-by-play announcer Kate Scott, but the role wouldn’t be confined to baseline updates.
“As I’m talking to my colleagues, I’m not even calling it a reporter role because I feel like it’s going to give them a stereotype I don’t necessarily mean,” Matcham said.
“I think you need a voice on the court where Alaa and Kate can’t be to give us insight, do pre- and postgame interviews, analysis, all of that,” Matcham added. “It’s a very hard job to do.”
A lot more national TV exposure for the Sixers
While the NBA hasn’t released its 2026-27 schedule, Matcham expects NBC Sports Philadelphia to air fewer Sixers games this season.
The network, which has broadcast Sixers games since 1997, is guaranteed a minimum of 67 games this season as part of its deal with the NBA. It’s widely expected the league will take 15 Sixers games — the most allowed under their current TV deal — and put them in exclusive national windows on ABC, NBC, and Amazon’s Prime Video.
“LeBron’s arrival in Philadelphia instantly becomes one of the biggest stories in sports and adds even more star power and intrigue to an already loaded NBA schedule,” said Justin Byczek, NBC’s executive vice president of programming and rights management. “His move elevates some of the league’s most historic rivalries, including highly anticipated battles with the defending NBA Champion New York Knicks.”
Another 19 games are expected to air nationally and on NBC Sports Philadelphia as side-by-sides on Peacock, ESPN, and NBA TV. That’s a total of 34 national games for the Sixers, compared to just 14 when the schedule was announced last season.
Under the NBA’s current media rights contract, every NBA team is guaranteed at least two national broadcasts. Only the most popular teams land 34, the max allowed under the 11-year, $76 billion TV deal.
It’s a great outcome for the NBA. The Lakers remain relevant with Luka Dončić, while James’ decision to join the Sixers will juice interest in matchups against the Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, and Miami Heat, who were spurned by LeBron but landed Giannis Antetokounmpo. There’s also the Sixers-Celtics rivalry, already heightened by Philly trading for Jaylen Brown.
“Christmas Day and all the top-level NBA nights, you’re going to see the Sixers,” said Jon Lewis, a TV ratings expert who runs the Sports Media Watch website. “Plus the national networks will have LeBron on the East Coast to showcase in that 8 o’clock window. That’s primetime, after all.”
What remains unclear is what impact James will have on NBC Sports Philadelphia’s viewership numbers. Last season, the network averaged 86,000 viewers per game, according to Nielsen numbers obtained by The Inquirer. That was a 25% increase compared to the 2024-25 season, where the Sixers lost 58 games and missed the playoffs.
Lewis said he would expect local ratings to go up in Philly if the 41-year-old stays healthy and the Sixers are big-time contenders. But he also noted there was just one Lakers game among the top 30 most-watched games in the NBA last season
“I would set expectations higher,” Lewis said, “just not overwhelmingly high for where he is at this point.”
The interest will also carry over to the Sixers three preseason games, beginning with their Oct. 8 matchup on the road against the Brooklyn Nets. Historically NBC Sports Philadelphia hasn’t covered those road preseason games, but that could change with James on the team.
“It’s the first preseason game with LeBron in a Sixers jersey,” Abdelnaby said. “So if our bosses were to say, ‘Listen, we’re covering that,’ I wouldn’t be surprised.”
NBC Sports Philadelphia is also looking to create more content to meet the high level of interest James will draw in Philly this season. That includes everything from adding and upgrading cameras throughout the arena to tinkering with in-game graphics and production equipment.
“Every game is going to mean something big,” Matcham said, “so everything we do has to show that off.”
