Will YouTube be in the mix for a package of NBA games? Not particularly, according to CEO Neal Mohan.
The company says its focus right now is on NFL Sunday Ticket and improving that experience.
Per Deadline, Mohan said that YouTube is currently focusing on making the Sunday Ticket experience “flawless and seamless” before potentially adding another sport’s live rights to its lineup.
“We’re taking it one step at a time right now,” Mohan said. “We have the NFL. Sunday Ticket is a big area of focus for us, getting that viewer experience right, making that game-day experience on Sunday flawless and seamless. And you should expect from us more innovation there, in terms of products, creator integrations, all the things that our fans — especially younger fans of the NFL on YouTube — expect.”
Mohan reiterated that YouTube’s focus right now is the NFL, despite its long-term relationship with the NBA.
The NBA has long operated one of YouTube’s most popular channels, Mohan noted. “We have a long-term partnership with them, but in terms of our focus right now it’s on the NFL and that experience.”
The good news for YouTube is that reception to NFL Sunday Ticket has been quite positive so far this season, meaning that some sort of massive overhaul isn’t needed.
The NBA’s existing rights deals with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery end after the 2024-25 season. Both incumbents have been heavily linked to renewing their pacts, but other companies, including Amazon, Apple, and NBC, have been rumored to be interested in acquiring packages of their own.
There’s still time for YouTube to throw itself into the NBA media rights pool. But if the company decides to stay out of the bidding, it will be likely locked out of one of the league’s media rights packages into the 2030s. A whole lot can change by the end of a rights cycle (just look at the Pac-12), and striking now may be the best bet long-term if YouTube eventually wants to air live NBA games.
[Deadline]
