FILE - A crowd attends a Blazers game at the Moda Center on Oct. 22, 2025 in Portland, Ore.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
Beaverton resident Kathy Herrick has been keeping up with the Portland Trail Blazers: She’s seen almost every game this season either on television or in person.
But when the Blazers play the Phoenix Suns Tuesday in their first postseason game in five years, Herrick might not be watching — because she doesn’t have Amazon Prime.
It’s the Blazers’ first chance at making the playoffs for the first time since 2021, but the play-in game, which tips at 7 p.m., will only be available on Prime Video, a deal that’s upset fans across the state.
“I was really disappointed because I’ve been very engaged with the games this year, and for many years, and we finally reached a promised land and we’re being shoved out the door,” Herrick said.
Amazon Prime Video has exclusive rights to stream the play-in as part of its 11-year media rights agreement with the NBA. That deal was made in 2024 and went into effect this season.
What does that mean if you want to catch the game? You need an Amazon Prime subscription to watch the play-in. If you don’t, you’ll need to find a friend, family member or local bar that does.
That fact has stirred frustration among fans, especially as the Portland team inches toward the playoffs.
“I guess spiritually, emotionally, in terms of the culture, it’s a pretty important step because it at least opens the door to getting into the dance,” Blazer’s Edge editor-in-chief Dave Deckard said.
But for Deckard, the new agreement ultimately leads some fans to feel that the league and its streaming partners don’t care about them.
“It doesn’t matter what the fan feeling is,” Deckard said. “When’s the last time you felt a business really cared about you? They have a product. You want it? You have to jump through the hoops to get it.”
Not everyone wants to jump through those hoops.
“I already pay a lot of money to Comcast, so I’m not interested in putting more money into media,” Herrick said about getting a Prime membership. “I think I might try to just listen to [Tuesday’s game] on the radio on my computer and look at the play by play.”
Amazon isn’t the only big player here. Already this season, viewers have had to figure out where to watch games among multiple services, such as Peacock and ESPN, which also have streaming rights to certain games.
Michael Richman, host of the "Locked On Blazers" podcast, said that can make things harder on the average viewer.
“Even just settling in to watch games this year, it’s like, ‘What day is it? What channel is it on?’” Richman said. “I do think in general it prices out the casual fan a lot, because who’s gonna pay money to watch this?”
For fans like Gabriel Jagle, finding the right services and paying for them isn’t worth it.
“It just doesn’t work for me personally because I don’t have a ton of streaming services,” Jagle wrote in an email to OPB. “And I’m not going to sign up for multiple services just to watch the NBA.”
The NBA’s move toward partnering with streaming giants is part of a larger trend, according to Patrick Pierce. He’s professor of practice at the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon and teaches a class on sports media.
“Aligning with a company like Amazon Prime enables [the NBA] to reach a younger audience segment,” Pierce said. “It gives them access to really valuable data, and it also helps them sell more licensed merchandise and other revenue channels that they can’t get from just a standard network TV partner.”
Pierce acknowledged that this shift will come with growing pains, and fans will have to realize “the train’s leaving the station, unfortunately.”
“This is the beginning of what we’ll see in all sports,” he said.
But at least for Tuesday’s game, Deckard said, “If you’re already a Blazers fan and have been somewhat following them, you’re probably going to find a way to watch it.”
Richman suggests getting a free Prime Video trial and then canceling it.
But if that isn’t your speed, you might have more luck at one of Portland’s sports bars.
