YouTube emerges as favorite for NBA’s massive local streaming package

The NBA’s next major media move could put local broadcasts for nearly the entire league under one digital roof.

YouTube remains the favorite to land the NBA’s proposed local streaming hub beginning with the 2027-28 season, according to Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal. The sides are reportedly in advanced discussions, with some industry executives expecting either a deal or a stalemate by this fall.

This, of course, isn’t a small package.

The NBA would like at least 25 of its 29 U.S.-based teams involved initially, with the ultimate goal of getting all 29 onto the platform in some form. Friend reports that if all 29 participate, the league could seek roughly $1.2 billion from YouTube. If only 25 join, a potential offer could land closer to $850 million.

The proposed agreement would run nine years, aligning it with the NBA’s current national television contracts, while reportedly including an exit option after five years.

There are, naturally, some rather large details still to work out.

Among them: Which teams actually participate, who controls advertising inventory and whether local over-the-air broadcasts continue alongside the streaming product. Then there’s the little matter of the Lakers and Knicks.

Los Angeles currently receives more than $200 million annually from its local deal with Charter Communications, while New York generated $110 million in local rights revenue last season through MSG. Those economics make simply folding both franchises into a league-wide package considerably more complicated.

Friend reports the Knicks could potentially begin by placing 15 games on YouTube before gradually expanding their participation.

The Lakers are a different story, particularly with Bob Iger and Josh Kushner in the process of buying the franchise at a $12.5 billion valuation. Their current Spectrum SportsNet arrangement runs through 2031-32, although Charter has reportedly explored selling the network and potentially reducing the Lakers’ rights fee.

If YouTube and the NBA can’t get across the finish line, there are alternatives. DAZN is reportedly waiting in the wings and could have to bid as much as $1.4 billion to wrest the package away. ESPN and Amazon have also expressed interest, though both already spend billions on the NBA’s national rights.