The NBA and YouTube's Beneficial Relationship

The National Basketball Association is aggressively permitting and promoting the NBA channel on YouTube.  This channel consists of exciting highlights as well as rare behind the scenes footage of such events as practices and the All-Star game.  The partnership between the NBA and YouTube is unique and creates an easy way for fans to watch NBA footage.  Furthermore, this is a great move for the NBA as it is one of two sports leagues (NHL is the other) that have their own official channel on YouTube that is run by the league.  This is in contrast to other professional sports leagues that actively try to take down videos that feature their league.  Thus, the NBA channel allows the NBA to gain a foothold in a social networking website that is quickly becoming the place where many fans find their sports highlights.  This is a big advantage for the NBA and its partnership with YouTube could allow for further unique official content in the future.