Technologies

NBA Streaming 2022: How to Watch, Livestream All the Christmas Day Games

From NBA League Pass to ESPN, TNT and more, you can catch every game during the 2022-2023 NBA season without cable.

The NBA’s annual all-day Christmas Day marathon has arrived. Five games, starting with the Sixers and Knicks at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) and running through Suns and Nuggets at 10:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. PT). Whether you are looking to break away from the family or just relax and bond with some hoops, ABC and ESPN will have you covered. Here’s the full schedule for Christmas Day:

Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks, 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT) on ABC, ESPN and streaming on ESPN Plus
Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks, 2:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. PT) on ABC and ESPN
Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics, 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) on ABC and ESPN
Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors, 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) on ABC and ESPN
Phoenix Suns at Denver Nuggets, 10:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. PT) on ABC and ESPN

While all of these games should be easy to find even if you don’t have cable (thanks to the simulcast across both ABC and ESPN), watching and streaming the NBA is a bit more complicated the rest of the year.

Here is everything you need to know about watching and streaming the NBA this season with or without cable.

What you need to know about watching and streaming the NBA

NBA fans looking to follow the drama and stream their team’s games throughout the year will need access to a few channels to catch every second of game time. In addition to your regular regional sports network, you’ll also need ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV for nationally televised contests.

All out-of-market games will continue to air on NBA League Pass, which is a great choice if you follow a team in a different city from where you live. This year the service even got a price cut that brings the starting price for the full season (with the NBA TV channel included) down to $100. The NBA has also worked on revamping its NBA app for phones, tablets and TVs to stream games closer to real-time and cable feeds this year.

With the season in full swing, the price for regular League Pass has dropped to $70 for the remainder of the season while League Pass Premium (which allows two streams at once) is now $90.

It’s important to note that local fans aren’t able to watch their team play on League Pass, as broadcasts of these contests air exclusively on regional sports networks. National games — including playoff games on ABC, ESPN and TNT — are similarly blacked out.

While you absolutely don’t need cable to watch basketball this year, it still might be the easiest and cheapest choice depending on where you live.

Live TV streaming services vs. cable

Die-hard sports fans are beholden to regional sports networks, or RSNs, that carry the majority of the games for their local team. These RSNs are usually included in local cable packages, so most cable subscribers never have to worry about gaining access to the broadcasts on these channels: They can simply turn on the TV and watch the game.

Cord-cutting basketball fans have a tougher path. Because of rights agreements, most live TV streaming services like YouTube TV or Hulu with Live TV don’t carry many RSNs. DirecTV Stream is the exception. It has nearly every RSN, particularly the Bally Sports channels (formerly Fox Sports) offered by Sinclair, but you’ll need to spring for its $90-a-month Choice plan.

Ultimately, depending on your location, getting a cable subscription that includes ESPN, TNT and the local RSN might actually be cheaper and easier than streaming — especially if it’s bundled with the home internet you’ll likely be getting anyway.

NBA League Pass, NBA TV and blackouts

For NBA fans looking to watch a ton of out-of-market basketball, a subscription to NBA League Pass has a lot to offer. You can get the whole NBA slate for $70 for the remainder of the season, with commercials and one device, or $90 for the season with in-arena feeds instead of commercials, and the ability to watch on two devices at once. Those interested in following only a single team can buy a Team Pass for $60 for the remainder of the season.

The catch here is «out-of-market.» Most fans are in-market, meaning they follow the local team, and unfortunately for them RSNs have broadcast exclusivity in the region that they cover. That means local NBA games are blacked out on NBA League Pass.

If you’re living in Los Angeles, for example, you won’t be able to watch Lakers or Clippers games on NBA League Pass. The same goes for Knicks or Nets fans in New York, Bucks fans in Milwaukee and so on. The only way to watch most of those home team games in your home market is to get a service that has the local RSN, namely Spectrum SportsNet, Bally Sports SoCal, MSG Network, YES Network or Bally Sports Wisconsin.

Services like NBA League Pass use IP addresses to block out games in viewers’ regions — you’ll just get a black screen or message telling you it’s unavailable if you try to watch those games. That’s why League Pass is ideal for those who want to follow one or more of the teams based in cities other than their own, aka out-of-market teams, but for local fans it’s not as useful.

Some RSNs, particularly some Bally Sports networks, will allow you to pay for their channel without signing up for cable.

Bally Sports Plus: Best local alternative, if your team is included

Bally Sports Plus launched in September and offers users in its coverage area a way to stream Bally Sports channels without cable. The service costs $20 a month or $190 a year for your local Bally Sports channel, including NBA and NHL games (plus MLB games in certain areas). In markets where you normally have two different Bally Sports channels, you can choose to only buy one, or you can bundle them together for $30 a month.

Bally Sports Plus uses your billing ZIP code to determine which channels are available to you, though you’ll be able to log into your channels from anywhere in the country.

DirecTV Stream: Simplest for fans of the local team at $90 for Choice package

For those determined to watch their local basketball team without a cable or satellite TV subscription, a live TV streaming service is the best bet. While it is pricey, DirecTV Stream is the best option for most people, particularly those where the local games air on Bally Sports networks.

DirecTV requires its $90-per-month Choice package to get RSNs, though this option also includes ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV, so you should be all set for basketball. If you live in a Ballys area, you could pair a Bally Sports Plus package with something like YouTube TV and save a few bucks per month.

It’s worth noting that the Choice package will be increasing by $10 and will cost $100 per month starting in January.

YouTube TV similarly includes all the major national channels and normally runs $65 per month, while Ballys — as mentioned above — generally runs $20 to $30 per month depending on your area. While in some cases this will be $5 per month cheaper than DirecTV, you will need to switch between different apps to stream everything.

Below is a chart of all of the NBA teams in the US and their corresponding RSNs.

Note: None of the (US-based) services carry the RSN for the Toronto Raptors. Fans in the US looking to watch Pascal Siakam and co. need to use NBA League Pass to get all the games that are not either on your local RSN or on a US national broadcast.

Some key takeaways:

The RSNs above are typically only available to local subscribers. Refer to the individual service’s details below to find out if you live in a place where you can receive a particular RSN.
DirecTV Stream’s $90-a-month Choice package includes NBA TV and all of the RSNs for basketball, with the exception of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Sixers fans hoping to watch Joel Embiid pulverize the competition will have to look elsewhere.
They could jump over to FuboTV, Hulu Plus Live TV or YouTube TV, which all carry NBC Sports Philadelphia, but fans of other teams will mostly be out of luck. FuboTV only offers 10 RSNs for basketball, while Hulu Plus Live TV and YouTube TV only have six. Sling TV doesn’t offer a single RSN.

One other note: If you don’t recognize the name of some of these channels, don’t worry. What were formerly Fox Sports RSNs have been rebranded as Bally Sports, because the channels are no longer owned by Fox but Sinclair, which partnered with casino group Bally’s to rename them.

Best options for nationally broadcast games

Aside from DirecTV Stream, the odds are long that a live TV streaming service carries the RSN for your local team’s games, which makes the other four services better bets for watching nationally televised games.

Each live TV streaming service offers a free trial, allows you to cancel anytime and requires a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.

Looking for a deal on your next movie night?

Compare prices or add promo codes to your next streaming service subscription with a single click when using the CNET Shopping extension.

Technologies

Forbes Türkiye Highlights Verum Finance and the Rise of Integrated Financial Ecosystems

Forbes Türkiye has published an article examining the launch of Verum Finance and its approach to integrating financial services directly into a messaging ecosystem.

In the article, Forbes Türkiye notes that the fintech industry is undergoing a transformation as financial services increasingly move beyond traditional banking applications and become part of broader digital ecosystems. Verum Finance is presented as an example of this trend, combining payments, digital cards, money transfers, and balance management within a single environment connected to Verum Messenger.

According to the publication, Verum Finance follows a model similar to the “super app” concept that has gained significant traction in Asian markets, where communication and financial services operate together on one platform. Unlike many Western platforms that continue to separate messaging and banking services, Verum Finance is integrated directly into the Verum ecosystem, allowing users to manage financial activities without relying on multiple third-party applications.

The article highlights several core features of the platform, including virtual debit cards, user-to-user transfers, online payments, digital asset operations, Apple Pay integration, and in-app balance management.

Forbes Türkiye also points to the growing importance of embedded finance and changing user expectations. The publication suggests that lengthy account-opening procedures, physical card delivery times, and constant switching between applications are becoming increasingly outdated in a mobile-first world.

Another major focus of the article is privacy and security. Forbes Türkiye describes Verum Finance as part of a broader trend toward “privacy-driven fintech,” where financial services are built on privacy-oriented infrastructure. The publication notes that the platform incorporates features such as phone-number-free registration, end-to-end encryption, user-controlled access management, and privacy-focused tools designed to enhance data protection.

The article concludes that one of the key challenges for companies operating at the intersection of secure communications, digital payments, and embedded finance will be maintaining both usability and security within a single integrated ecosystem.

The coverage by Forbes Türkiye reflects growing media interest in platforms that combine communication and financial services, as the industry continues moving toward more unified digital experiences.

Website: https://finance.verum.im
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/verum-finance/id6774245148
Verum Messenger: https://verum.im

Technologies

Verum Launched “Verum Finance” App for iPhone and iPad, Expanding Its Digital Ecosystem Into Financial Services

Verum has announced the official launch of Verum Finance, a standalone financial application now available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, marking a further expansion of the company’s growing digital ecosystem.

The new application is designed to centralize core financial functions in a single mobile interface, allowing users to manage balances, send and receive funds, use debit cards, and exchange supported balance types without relying on traditional banking workflows.

According to Verum, the platform enables users to view account activity in real time, top up balances using supported payment methods including Apple Pay, and transfer funds to other users within the Verum ecosystem using a unique Verum ID. The system also supports multi-balance management, including specialized balance categories such as precious metals.

Debit card functionality is integrated directly into the app, allowing users to issue and manage cards linked to their balances, monitor transactions, and top up cards when needed. The company also emphasizes built-in exchange tools that allow users to convert between supported balance types within the application.

Security features include Face ID authentication, passcode protection, Sign in with Apple, and privacy-oriented account controls aimed at maintaining user confidentiality and data protection.

The launch of Verum Finance follows the company’s broader strategy of building an interconnected ecosystem of digital products. Alongside Verum Messenger, which combines secure communication tools, encrypted messaging, voice and video calls, VPN services, eSIM connectivity, AI features, anonymous email, and crypto-related functionality, the new financial app extends Verum’s positioning from communication technology into financial infrastructure.

Industry trends increasingly show demand for “all-in-one” digital environments that reduce dependency on multiple standalone apps. Verum’s approach reflects this shift by integrating communication and financial services within a unified ecosystem.

Verum Finance is now available globally for download on iPhone and iPad via the App Store.

Website: https://finance.verum.im
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/verum-finance/id6774245148
Verum Messenger: https://verum.im

Technologies

Verum Messenger: Don’t follow the future. Define it

In a world where information defines influence, Verum Messenger is building a new architecture of digital communication — intelligent, secure, and ready for tomorrow. Here, technology serves not limitations, but possibilities.

Not being part of change. Leading it. Verum Messenger — the future that speaks first.