Professional Sports Leagues Adapt to YouTube

If you missed LeBron James’ outstanding fourth-quarter performance in this year’s NBA conference finals, you can access a slick highlight package on YouTube courtesy of the NBA. (It has been viewed more than 716,000 times.) But if you want to relive last year’s Super Bowl, you won’t find any NFL game footage on YouTube. A Miami Herald story notes the different YouTube strategies of the major professional sports leagues.

To protect its $4 billion television empire, the NFL intensely polices YouTube. According to the Herald story, the NFL’s legal department requested the removal of more than 4,000 clips from YouTube last year – an average of more than 10 per day. The league is mostly concerned about protecting game footage and is less stringent about player interviews and other off-the-field videos.

The NBA and NHL, meanwhile, have started to embrace the medium through revenue partnerships with YouTube. Both leagues actively upload videos and solicit fan feedback. The NBA ranks 12th among YouTube partners (based on uploads and views), while the NHL is 20th.

Professional hockey and basketball undoubtedly have the most to gain by making their footage accessible. The NBA’s television ratings have dropped by 29 percent since 2002, and this year’s playoff ratings were abysmal. The NHL finals had a dreadful 1.6 television rating this year.

The NFL, in contrast, is cruising with record ratings and popularity. It may not need YouTube right now, but it also must avoid being left behind as online video becomes mainstream.