DIRECTV Says It Will Carry NBA League Pass Despite Report It’s Now An Amazon Exclusive

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Follow me on X.

DIRECTV says it will offer the 2025/26 NBA League Pass to both satellite and streaming subscribers despite a statement from YouTube TV that the package has become an Amazon exclusive.

“DIRECTV will continue in 2025-2026 to offer NBA LP via satellite and streaming,” a DIRECTV spokesman told The TV Answer Man via e-mail. “It might be a vMVPD (industry term for live streaming services) exclusive or something that doesn’t withhold the coverage from (DIRECTV). Not sure. But we definitely have it.”

YouTube late last week began notifying subscribers that it would not carry the NBA League Pass after September 30, 2025 because it said Amazon had obtained the package of out-of-market games as an exclusive. (They would continue to be available as a package at the NBA site.)

“The NBA has signed an exclusive agreement with Amazon, so we’re unable to continue offering NBA and WNBA League Pass on YouTube TV or YouTube Primetime Channels,” YouTube said in a post on X. “After September 30th, all NBA & WNBA League Pass content will become unavailable on YouTube Primetime Channels and YouTube TV, including recordings in your Library.”

The streamer issued a similar statement to its YouTube TV subscribers via e-mail.

“The NBA has signed a new agreement with Amazon to be the exclusive channel store of NBA League Pass, which means this service will no longer be available on YouTube TV starting September 30, 2025,” the streamer said in the customer e-mail. “At that time, your NBA League Pass subscription will be canceled automatically, and you will no longer be charged for this add-on. If you are a monthly subscriber, you will receive a refund for your last payment.”

The statement was apparently in response to Amazon’s new 11-year $1.8 billion agreement with the NBA which includes the annual rights to dozens of regular season games starting next month when the 2025/26 season begins.

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