The NBA’s contract with YouTuber Kenny Beecham could be a new blueprint for sports leagues

May 25, 2026 Presented by The NBA is ramping up its bet on creator-led commentary, elevating YouTube basketball star Kenny Beecham to the center of its fan-facing media strategy as it continues to chase younger audiences across digital platforms. Beecham, who has more than 4.16 million followers on his own channels and has worked with the league for over six years, now fronts an original basketball trivia series, hosts official telecasts and appears on NBA TV — all while remaining an independent creator. Advertisement TOP STORY The Creator Economy The NBA’s contract with YouTuber Kenny Beecham could be a new blueprint for sports leagues The NBA’s blueprint for working with creators like Kenny Beecham could be a sign of where sports leagues are headed. OTHER THINGS TO KNOW Instead of experimentation, marketers are testing ideas fast and scaling what’s successful. By prioritizing AI that works alongside marketers, leaders are improving workflows, reducing burnout, ensuring consistency — all while maintaining the human component of their creative. Partner insights from Contentful. Even with the biggest FIFA men’s World Cup in history rapidly approaching and modern sports fans continually demonstrating their digital savviness, the success of so many brands’ campaigns still relies on outdated strategies and technology. Partner insights from Sportradar. Increasingly, viewers turn on their TVs without a fixed plan. Nielsen estimates that viewers spend as long as 10.5 minutes browsing on the home screen before they decide what to watch. Partner insights from Nexxen. A MESSAGE FROM TATARI Why DSPs miss most TV inventory Live sports, hit shows and cultural moments — most programmatic platforms can’t buy this inventory. Tatari gives brands direct access to premium streaming and linear TV inventory in one platform, with transparent pricing and measurement to prove what TV is driving. Learn more MEDIA & PLATFORMS Zero-click Future Google’s latest commerce moves deepen the battle over agentic shopping Google’s aim to own the entire shopper journey is heating up the agentic commerce battle against Amazon’s Alexa and rivals like TikTok Shop. Member exclusive Media Buying Briefing: Production and media squeeze lead brands to run campaigns for longer Data shows big brands keeping campaigns in play for longer. While consistency is gospel among brand strategists, pressure on production and media budgets may be the culprit. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM DIRECTV ADVERTISING National buys alone don’t reach loyal regional and local sports fans Shifting sports rights to streamers has made regional and local sports that much more valuable because fragmentation makes it much harder for national buys alone to reach local fans effectively. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM SEEDTAG As richer contextual signals add value to inventory, agencies and publishers benefit Programmatic buying has long relied on a combination of identity-based and contextual signals to guide decisions, but the latter has often been applied more narrowly. Advertisement ICYMI Member exclusive Digiday+ Research: The marketers’ 2026 guide to a shifting CTV landscape, including YouTube, Peacock and Roku Digiday+ Research’s fifth annual report analyzes the state of ad-supported streaming and the challenges those companies pose to marketers. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM ADJUST How Tripledot Studios managed a migration without disruption Tripledot’s internal business intelligence systems serve as the central source of truth for performance, and any disruption to data pipelines or cohort tracking would have had downstream effects across teams. The Business of AI ‘Moved that drop dead date’: Omnicom accelerates LiveRamp exit after Publicis deal Omnicom’s CEO said it was already walking away from LiveRamp before Publicis wrote the check. The Business of AI Why WPP’s AI boss believes agents are still in the 'teenage sex' stage of development Agents are merely the latest technology to earn the dubious distinction. Written by Jim Cooper and Sara Jerde Were you forwarded this email? Sign up to get it daily. Advertise | Digiday+ | Events | Awards Update your email | Unsubscribe | Privacy policy