What is the ruling on uploading sports videos to YouTube and profiting from them without the permission of their owners, and should permission be obtained from the owners of the clips or from the owners of the channels that hold the rights?

Permission to publish and upload material to YouTube or elsewhere is required from the copyright holder if they prohibit it. However, if they do not prohibit it, there is no harm in publishing and benefiting from it, so long as it does not contain anything forbidden by Islamic law. If the owner of the material prohibits its publication and someone else publishes it, that person is sinful and has no right in what they have done. One should neither seek permission from them nor cooperate with them, but rather seek permission from the actual copyright holder, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "And there is no right for a root of injustice," meaning that injustice does not grant the oppressor any right.