Perhaps Kai Cenat, the biggest Twitch streamer in America, can get the attention of the NBA on innovative ways to connect with younger audiences.
Coming off two straight seasons where the league was plagued by constant discussion of its fluctuating viewership and potentially dipping relevance for young fans, Cenat believes live-streaming on platforms like Twitch and YouTube can be part of the solution. In an interview on Hot Ones this week, Cenat pitched the idea of more freedom for streamers to react live to NBA games.
“I know this might be a bad take, but I do think if streamers were allowed to react to the NBA, I know it’s television and things happen with traditional media,” Cenat said. “But I do feel like it’s OK or times at least are changing, where if streamers or people at home are able to react to these games, it would only be crazier. That’s one thing, I think. If we could get streamers to be able to react to NBA games live, that would be crazy.”
Let’s back up. It’s important to remember the NBA viewership dip is relatively small, and in line with what Major League Baseball and the NHL have experienced as well. Certain big moments, like the 2023 NBA Draft or Game 7 of the 2025 Finals, still blow up for even the casual fan. The reason any of this is concerning is because the NBA for so long was the clear No. 2 in the pecking order of American sports. Any slippage for the league is troubling for the people who love it and who make money off it.
And while it’s not a surprise that Cenat, who became famous streaming on Twitch, would suggest streaming as a fix. However, the NBA is not as far behind on streaming as some would think. One great example is Playback, which advertises itself as “Twitch for sports” and just raised more than $20 million earlier this year. Playback partners with MLB and the NBA on their subscription services, MLB.tv and NBA League Pass.
Big-time former athletes like Gilbert Arenas and Kevin Garnett stream through Playback, as do the hosts of popular digital shows like The Dunker Spot and No Dunks.
The one massive thing standing in the way is the broadcast rightsholders. Networks like ESPN (and soon NBC and Prime Video) pay billions for exclusive rights to air live games. We are in the infant stages of carve-outs for “creator rights” or live-streaming as separate windows in these deals. Alt-casts like the ManningCast or TNF with Dude Perfect are the closest we get, for now.
But given that NBA commissioner Adam Silver is open about the league’s need to pull young audiences onto monetizible viewing platforms, a viral clip like this from a popular streamer like Cenat would figure to make an impact. After all, Cenat and his compatriot iShowSpeed both get interviews with top NBA stars already. Their audiences are primed to sit with them through live games.
A formal deal with a creator or streaming platform would also help the NBA (and other leagues) weed out pirated streams, another major issue for live sports today. If there was a free or fairly cheap (like, say, a subscription to a Twitch streamer’s account) way for fans to watch games, they may migrate away from the shady sites like MethStreams.
Cenat wasn’t necessarily throwing his hat into the ring for an NBA partnership, but he probably wouldn’t turn down a conversation with the league office.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.