The NBA is embracing content creators and trying to protect the rights to live broadcast sporting events

The future of the NBA’s media strategy was taking shape at All-Star weekend this year.

The hype has always been about showcasing the league’s best players. But this year, the event was as much about the league’s partnership with content creators as it was about the talent on the field.

More than 200 global creators participated in the events from Thursday to Sunday, facilitated by the league. It showed that the NBA seems more than happy to partner with content creators rather than restricting their access to the game with a wall of direct rights value — which is where the league makes most of its money. The new $77 billion, 11-year media rights deal kicked off this season with deals with Comcast’s NBCUniversal, Disney and Amazon.

The NBA is betting that its future has room for both a growing creator base and the traditional game viewing experience that has fueled its revenue growth.

“The NBA has a long history of collaborating with talented creators who share our commitment to bringing the excitement of our games and events to fans around the world,” said Bob Carney, NBA senior vice president of social and digital content. “We are thrilled to join forces with more creators than ever before for NBA All-Star, providing them opportunities to be active participants in nearly every event and providing engaging content that showcases this marquee NBA event to diverse audiences.”

A few months ago, NBA commissioner Adam Silver described the NBA as a “highlight-based sport” and pointed fans to Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube for league content. Silver decided it was worth partnering with creators to keep Generation Z and Generation Alpha interested in the NBA as these age groups move away from watching full games the way their parents did.

Embracing social media is a risky play for Silver, given that the vast majority of the league’s revenue comes from the value of live games. The NBA’s big media deal sent the team’s ratings soaring. The average NBA franchise is now worth $5.52 billion, up 18% from last year.

However, silver may not have much choice. Unlike the NFL, regular season games in the NBA do not attract large crowds. This season, NBA regular-season games averaged about 2 million viewers across ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime Video, according to Nielsen data. That compares to an average television audience of 18.7 million for a regular-season NFL game last season.

A 2023 survey by marketing firm InMobi found that 61% of Gen Z respondents, or those between the ages of 18 and 24 at the time of the survey, described user-generated content as their favorite form of media.

Bridging the gap between content creation and streaming rights may be the invention of a new form of alternative streaming, where kids can watch games with their favorite YouTubers. A Harris Poll survey conducted earlier this year found that 37% of Gen Z members surveyed said they would watch a creator-led syndicated broadcast of a regular season game across professional sports. Seventy percent said they were more likely to watch their favorite creator’s feed if that person was co-broadcasting a sporting event.

“Over time, I could see in a couple of years there being 30 different ways to watch the Super Bowl or something,” sports content creator Jesse Riddell, known as Jesser on YouTube, said in an interview. “I think in the future, instead of one broadcast, there will be many versions to broadcast.”

Riedel has over 37 million subscribers on YouTube. He co-founded the media and lifestyle company Bucketsquad, which has annual revenue in the tens of millions, according to the company’s president, Zach Miller.

Riddle noted that the NBA is more conducive to content creation than the NFL because fans tend to focus more on the players and less on the teams. Riedel features many star players in his videos, which helps him attract a large viewership.

“I feel like the NFL fans I have are more passionate about their teams, but the NBA, in particular, I think is more like the players,” Riddle said.

The rise of NBA content creation isn’t the only factor changing the future of media in the league. Silver also spoke this weekend about how artificial intelligence will likely change the NBA viewing experience.

“One area in particular that I think is worth addressing is the impact on the fan experience. One of the things we’re already starting to see is how we’re going to, more than just customization, personalize our television broadcasts,” Silver said at an All-Star weekend press conference. “A lot of you may have already experienced this, but in essence, you’ll be able to hear the game in any dialect, any language, and you’ll be able to hear hardcore Xs and Os commentary, maybe a more comedic commentary if that’s what you’re interested in, or a newbie explaining every bug and the rules over time.”

There is an inherent danger in over-customizing the game. Sports are one of the last communal experiences in American society – certainly on television. This has led to a significant rise in media rights and the associated high cost of advertising.

Having multiple broadcasts and AI experiments will probably boost interest, and targeted advertising rates will continue to rise as companies seize the opportunity to link highly specific commercials to personalized content.

But splitting a stream into many different segments may also degrade the main reason why live streaming rights are so valuable — as a way to target millions of people at once.