The NBA Finals will be branded like never before this year, as ABC’s traditional coverage adds YouTube TV as a Presenting Partner, a first for the league. Every NBA Finals game will be feature a “The Finals presented by YouTube TV” logo. YouTube TV, the company’s cable-free live TV service, launched in April 2017 and is moving fast. The service first made a big impression on NBA fans during Christmas Day 2017, when YouTube TV bought a large advertising footprint on the rich succession of Christmas Day games the NBA features each year.
YouTube and the NBA have enjoyed a long, fruitful partnership. YouTube TV is a natural extension. Only weeks before the ‘NBA Finals Presented by YouTube TV’ announcement, the NBA added its 24-hour network NBA TV to YouTube TV’s basic package — free to all YouTube TV members without an upgrade. (Skinny bundles are getting fatter!) YouTube TV is available in more than 85% of American households. YouTube TV will also sponsor the Finals for the WNBA and the NBA G-League.