NBA Playoffs 2020: Live Stream, Schedule, Start Time, TV Channel

Watching the NBA regular season is exciting, but it's even more so when things get sorted out a bit, and once the best teams get to play against each other. The NBA playoffs are scheduled for April 2020, and we're here to tell you how to watch these games online.

Sixteen teams, eight from each Conference, will participate in the NBA playoffs. The event gets split into four rounds as the teams are seeded according to their standings. Each matchup is played as best-of-seven, with the first team to win four games advancing.

The third round winners are declared champions of their Conferences and move on to the Finals, but that's a talk for another day. The NBA regular season kicked off in October, and now the Playoffs are closing in.

When Are the NBA Playoffs 2020?

COVID-19 may have put a brake on the NBA season, but it hasn't stopped yet. In fact, with the players returning to the court, we're back on track.

Now that the season resumes, we know the Playoffs are scheduled to begin on August 17th, and they'll last through August 31st when the Conference Semifinals are scheduled.

The Conference Finals are programmed for September 15th, and the NBA Finals will begin on September 30th.

Where to Watch the NBA Playoffs 2020?

The NBA Playoffs broadcast is split between a list of TV networks each year. More specifically, you can watch the NBA Playoffs on ABC, TNT, ESPN, and NBA TV. You can use the Playoffs schedule to find which network airs that specific game.

How Can I Watch the NBA Playoffs 2020?

fuboTV is only just adding ESPN and ABC to the list of channels. TNT has been around for a long while. There are multiple plans they have to offer, mixing the main bundle with various channel packs and other extras, but ABC, ESPN, and TNT are going to be available in all versions.

NBA TV can also be found on fuboTV, mainly in the fubo Sports Plus ($10.99/month), or fubo Extra ($5.99/month). There's also the option of getting it by picking one of the NBA Team Passes, which give you NBA TV and your favorite team's network.

You can customize your subscription however you want, so keep that in mind. There are extra channel packs and premium networks, as well as add-ons to expand the cloud DVR storage space or the number of simultaneous streams.

fuboTV was initially built for sports fans, so you'll discover loads of dedicated channels, which means you'll have loads of cool ways to watch your favorite events. It works on loads of devices, including iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, Apple TV, Android TV, and more.

Other Ways to Watch the NBA Playoffs

Hulu - We also have Hulu on our list because it's a great platform, and you can get pretty much all the channels broadcasting NBA games, except for NBA TV. There is a single bundle of channels that you can get here, but you can add a couple of channel packs if you're looking for more content.

Your Hulu subscription will enable you also to enjoy everything available in the Video-on-Demand library that Hulu has been building for years. Start your 7-day free trial on Hulu today!

Sling TV - Sling TV is a cool service that comes with loads of customization options. There are three bundles here - Orange, Blue, and Orange + Blue. ESPN can be found in Orange and Orange + Blue, TNT is present in all of them, while NBA TV is present in the Sports Extra ($10/month) or the NBA Team Pass. Sling TV does not offer ABC, though.

Your choice will dictate the number of simultaneous streams, as Orange subscribers get a single stream, while Blue subscribers get three of them, Orange + Blue subscribers get four concurrent streams and the most channels.

There are a ton of channel packs and premium networks available to help you make the service your own. Watch 3 Days Free on Sling TV Now!

ABC, ESPN, CBS, and NBA TV Websites - These feature live streams that you can easily enjoy. You will need to log in to an account to do this, however. For those channels, you will need to have credentials from your TV provider, which can be a live TV service or cable company. That happens because they need proof that you are paying for their broadcast.

How Can I Watch the NBA Playoffs Outside of the United States?

If there's one thing you have to know about watching TV online, that is the fact that all platforms are geo-blocked, so you can't access them when traveling outside of the United States. This aspect can be quite inconvenient, but it's just something that happens because of the licensing deals in place - and unfortunately, they cannot be violated.

The best solution to this problem is simply changing your IP address so that you appear to be back in the United States rather than across the border, and a VPN could easily help you with that. We can direct you towards ExpressVPN because it's one of the best on the market today, as it comes with thousands of servers across the world.

ExpressVPN will route your connection through one of its servers, encrypt it all, and assign a new IP address to your device. In this way, the site will think you're back in the US, rather than anywhere else.

You simply have to set up an account on ExpressVPN (49% OFF), sort out the apps, and find a US-based server to connect to. There is also a 30-days money-back guarantee in place here.

Can I Use a TV Antenna to Watch the NBA Playoffs?

That is something that you can actually do, at least in part. ABC is one of the channels that continues to broadcast over-the-air, so you will be able to use a TV antenna to watch the games broadcast by this particular network.

Antennas are popular with cord-cutters because they enable people to watch TV for free by only paying for their devices. We should mention that the thing about Sling TV is that if you pay for two months in advance, they will give you a free TV antenna.

Before you purchase an antenna yourself, you should go ahead and check a site such as NoCable, which will give you more information about the channels that are available over-the-air in your specific location. It will also tell you exactly how far the broadcast stations are, so you can decide what range you need your device to have, to get the most out of your purchase and watch as many networks as possible.

We have also given you a bunch of suggestions, which are all great devices, and you can start by looking over those before you buy anything.

How Can I Get an NBA League Pass?

The NBA League Pass and the NBA Team Pass are available to enable you to watch all the games, even those that are not broadcast by regular channels. These will cost you a bit, but they can pay off - especially if you're a big fan.

Here is how you can get these:

NBA - You can get the League Pass directly from NBA by paying $249.99 per year, getting all content without ads, or bearing with some ads and paying $50 less. The NBA Team Pass will cost you $119.99 per year. The prices go up when you pay monthly.

Sling TV - The NBA Team Pass on Sling TV will cost you $17.99 per month, while the NBA League Pass will cost you $28.99 per month.

fuboTV - There is also the NBA League Pass through fuboTV that you can get for $28.99 per month.

Amazon Prime - If you're an Amazon Prime subscriber, you can also get the NBA League Pass for $28.99 per month or $199.00 per year, which will go on top of the Prime subscription.

How to Watch the NBA Playoffs in Canada, UK, and Australia?

• Basketball fans in the UK can watch the NBA games on Sky Go.
• Over in Canada, people can watch the games on TSN.
• In Australia, the NBA games are available to watch on ESPN.

How Can I Bypass the NBA Blackout?

One thing that's annoying when watching sports is that some games may be blacked out. It means that the local stations, including TV network sites, aren't allowed to broadcast them because others have exclusive rights.

The problem can be fixed relatively easily by using a VPN. Once more, we recommend you go for ExpressVPN, which will allow you to watch a lot of content. Follow our guide to bypass NBA League Pass blackout restrictions.

NBA Playoffs Schedule 2020

Here is the NBA Playoffs schedule for the first round.

Eastern Conference

Western Conference