NBA Removes Brawl Videos from YouTube

Known as the dictator to players, coaches, Mark Cuban, and now myself, NBA Commissioner David Stern has officially censored me!

Well, not directly, but if you try to watch the video I've embedded on my article about the Knicks/Nuggets brawl, you won't have much luck. As TechDirt reports, that's because the NBA has demanded that YouTube remove any video showing Saturday night's throw-down.

While the NHL is actively trying to get more videos up on YouTube, Hoopsworld reported back in November that the NBA has indicated they want just the opposite, requesting that YouTube remove all NBA videos. So far, the brawl videos represent the first footage to have an outright ban on YouTube.

Possibly, the initial request with YouTube in November was merely a filing to make it easier to remove unwanted content, such as the brawl. Also possible, the NBA just doesn't seem to understand the power of free online marketing.

It's interesting that the struggling NHL is embracing YouTube as a way to expand their audience base, but the NBA seems to be pushing the viral video promotions away, almost as if the NBA feels that have enough fans that they don't need to risk losing the ones they have to the internet.

While David Stern claims he is always trying to grow the NBA, which granted, he has done a wonderful job of, he really seems to be dropping the ball on this by refusing free distribution of NBA content in a fashion similar to the record industry.

This is of course is if the YouTube ban of NBA videos continues to be an issue. Currently it has only been with the brawl video, which while I'm not into censorship, I do completely understand that this is not the promotion the NBA wants and that this video, because it is on YouTube, will be seen by many more who otherwise would never have viewed it.

Hopefully, the ban of NBATube will stop here. If not, David Stern will have earned one more blogger who feels the same as Mark Cuban (who by the way, embeds YouTube NBA clips in his blog).