There’s no shortage of NBL fans willing to complain about this season’s TV situation. With games being shown by One on delay at 10.30pm, it’s a fairly valid thing to complain about.
However, the complainers go too far when they imply it’s killing the sport or that no one’s watching. It’s not and, remarkably, they are.
The ratings for the delayed telecasts are just as good as ratings when the games were live. In fact, earlier this season Perth Wildcats chief Nick Marvin told ABC Radio there had been an improvement ratings-wise on last season – and as someone who’s watching the numbers closely, there hasn’t been a noticeable drop in ratings since.
Obviously, the delayed telecasts make it hard to actually grow the game’s audience and are absolutely dreadful in terms of getting children to watch. That’s a given.
But you can’t make the argument no one is watching because of the timeslot, the numbers simply refute this.
Predictably, there are those yearning for a return to Fox Sports. But we can’t forget that basketball’s status only went backwards during the time it was on Fox, an obvious sign that cutting yourself off from two-thirds of the population mightn’t be such a bright idea.
Sure, games would probably be live on Fox. But the audience would decrease – there’s a reason the NBL’s ratings improved 298 per cent when it moved to free-to-air.
The status quo isn’t perfect. However, even if you choose to overlook the numbers and the lack of a genuine alternative, there’s one more point that’s worth noting: the status quo is only temporary.
The Network Ten deal requires more games to be shown as it progresses which means – as I explain in far more detail here – there will either be five games on free-to-air by the final year of the contract (2014-15), or less games but live coverage included.
You can lament the TV situation all you want, but perhaps it’s more wise to look beyond the obvious when it comes to what’s stopping the NBL from growing at a faster pace. One only needs to look at the events of the past week at the Melbourne Tigers to get a glimpse of what’s really wrong with the league.
First, though, some perspective. Right now, Perth sell out every home game and are about to move into a new 12,000-seat arena. In Adelaide, the 36ers have been out of contention for years yet still get healthy crowds and attention from the media.
New Zealand last night had their third-consecutive sellout and are clearly riding a wave of momentum. The North Queensland teams are, as always, doing great. The Gold Coast Blaze continue to grow and their typical crowd is now noticeably bigger than that of the A-League’s Gold Coast United.
So, overall, the NBL seems pretty healthy in most of its markets. The outlook in these markets is likewise positive.
Then you look at Melbourne, the nation’s second biggest market. Now yes, the Tigers have had five sellouts this season, but selling out a 3,500-seat venue in a city as big and sports-mad as Melbourne is hardly an achievement.
This week revealed the true nature of the modern-day Tigers: a team with a shambolic ownership that makes it near impossible for the sport to actually move forward and build its Melbourne supporter base.
After the Tigers went down to the Blaze on Sunday night, owner and chief executive Seamus McPeake stormed into the locker room and confronted the players, a confrontation that included him sacking import point guard Ayinde Ubaka on the spot.
Given Ubaka was a fan favourite, McPeake’s actions infuriated supporters. What made it worse was the unprofessional nature of what took place, especially on the back of the Daryl Corletto saga, the Al Westover sacking and countless other examples.
One fan, Tim Grimes, summed up the mood of the Tiger faithful in an open letter to McPeake.
“I worry that fans will become disheartened after losing one too many of their heroes,” he wrote.
“I worry that players will think twice about coming to the club as it builds a cavalier reputation for sacking them at a moment’s notice and that current players will be forever watching their backs rather than focusing on the game.
“And more than anything, I worry that the club I love because it always stood for something important will one day soon stand for nothing at all.”
Clearly, though, it’s McPeake’s way or the highway at the Tigers. After all, this is a club that charges $1020 for its cheapest full-season family membership, when AFL clubs in the same market charge $370.
While Patrick Mills provided a nice injection of buzz into the club, as long as it’s run the way it is now – that is, constantly disenfranchising current fans while putting up as many barriers as possible for new fans – then the Tigers will always lag behind other sports in the competitive Melbourne market.
And make no mistake, lag the sport does. The Ubaka story – as big as it was in basketball circles – only warranted a spot on the very last sports page in the Herald Sun.
The same paper last year had a story on Mills’ signing dwarfed by a one-and-a-half page spread covering results from the English Premier League.
Things shouldn’t be this bad in such a crucial market.
Thankfully, though, Melbourne isn’t as bad as Brisbane. The Queensland capital still don’t even have a team.
Brisbane is the third-biggest market in the country and there’s currently zero representation from the NBL, save for a token Blaze game or preseason fixture that really don’t mean too much.
There’s a good chance the Bullets will be back next year, however the fact it’s been allowed to get to the point where there hasn’t been a team for three seasons is ridiculous. Hopefully the fans return if and when the team does.
Finally, it’s hard to avoid looking at our biggest market, Sydney. While the Kings post very healthy crowds given they haven’t been terribly successful on the court, the concern isn’t whether fans are showing up but whether there’s much wider interest in the team throughout the city.
For one Kings game last year, there were only 1000 Sydneysiders watching on TV (there were more fans at the actual game).
The season-opening clash between the Tigers and Kings had 10,000 more viewers in Melbourne than in Sydney (even though the Kings were in the news all week due to all that Andrew Bogut speculation).
Speaking of the media, it’s also interesting that the Daily Telegraph – even though they sponsor the Kings – do not have a basketball section on their website.
Obviously, it’s a good thing the team has a solid platform to build on with its strong core of supporters. But it appears there’s still a lot of work to do.
The importance of getting things right in Australia’s three biggest markets cannot be underestimated. These cities, Sydney and Melbourne particularly, are where the bulk of the national media come from. They are where the most people are.
It’s no coincidence that the current A-League season started with plenty of momentum on the back of Brisbane Roar’s championship, Harry Kewell signing with Melbourne Victory and Brett Emerton signing with Sydney FC.
The AFL hasn’t plonked new teams in Sydney and Southeast Queensland simply because they thought it’d be a neat idea.
Heck, the NBL itself should know its glory days were when three well-supported teams represented Melbourne, the Kings truly captured the attention of Sydney and people in Brisbane idolised Leroy Loggins and the Bullets.
While the NBL is right where it should be in most markets, the fact it could be so much more in the three biggest – and most important – markets in Australia is preventing it from taking a more prominent position in our sporting landscape.
Having a TV deal that’s set to give the NBL more games on free-to-air per week than the AFL isn’t, evidently, the greatest of the league’s problems.
Androo
Guest
Interesting article, Michael. A lot of good points made. I've gotten into following NBL thanks mostly to it being on FTA TV, but also in part to the kids' obsession with EVERYTHING to do with basketball. The NBL and the A-League are godsends for those of us who don't like curryket and are waiting for the footy to rock 'round again. Judging by Nick Naitanui's dunking skills, the appreciation of basketball has a reach that is far more widespread than is given credit for. Indeed, it is about the third most popular team sport in the country by participation numbers. A number of things this newbie to the sport has noticed that appear to be hindering the NBL: 1. The monster in the room:The NBA. The differences in quality between the NBA and the NBL are no doubt appreciated by all. I would be willing to wager a substantial sum of money that most children spend way more time playing NBA2K12 than watching NBL on TV. And those same children would know all about Kobe, LeBron, The Bulls, and The Pistons, and very little about our domestic league and the players working a buck in it. 2. The delayed viewing time for NBL matches must surely be an inhibitor. I've not watched replays on many occasions on account of gleaning results from TV news services. As you have metioned above, the delayed telecast means the product isn't getting to the game's future: children. Time zone differences also mean children can easily watch an NBA game during daytime whereas NBL matches are often broadcast during sleeping hours. 3. Absolutely correct that the league must have a strong presence in all capitals. With such a small population as Australia's, setting teams up in small population centres carries with it high risk. Competitions should cling to the capitals during the start-up phase and then be rolled out to the regionals thereafter. The A-League stuffed this completely, whereas the Big Bash League got this right. 4. Never underestimate the ultra-conservative nature of the print and TV media, and it's obsession with tradition. The amount of coverage, both deserving and unwarranted, given to cricket during the summer months often pushes sports such as soccer, basketball, baseball, etc. to the fringes. The myopic media in this country often can't seem to think past the 'Summer of cricket' paradigm that is peddled out every summer. If only the likes of Channel 10 would take the occasional risk with a sport such as basketball they may reap an unexpected reward.
Lucan
Guest
I sincerely hope the MCA option will go ahead. Another factor to be considered (well, for me personally, at least) is the ticket price point. The current prices at the Cage may be a necessaity to start covering the costs, but as an average punter I don't see the dollar value in physically attending games any longer. I don't mind the delayed coverage on OneHD. I can spend some family time in the earlier parts of the evening and then tune into the game guilt free.
Nevin
Guest
To those who lambast the Melbourne Tigers venue, I have been fortunate enough over the years to see the Tigers play at Rod laver when they drew crowds of 10,000+ for regular season games, to Vodafone arena where crowds dropped to 5000-6000 to the Cage where the average crowd is probably around 3000 (approx figures). Whilst the Cage is in the middle of 'nowhere' and difficult to access, I imagine the it is affordable for the club in terms of revenue deals Vs vodafone deal where they would only get 5000 fans (maybe) and make less money. Long term sustainability is key and the Cage probably offers a better optino from this standpoint than Hisense. Atmosphere is crucial and I found Hisense arena woeful for atmosphere, a packed and rowdy Cage is a better spectable than a quiet and half to two thirds empty Hisense arena. Admittedly prices at the Cage are too high for a family sport and location is poor. I am no market expert but i dont think the tigers have a great fan base in the South East anyway, as these fans would prefer to jump onto a new SOuth East based team as they did with the Dragons, so good to see what comes of it when the new team starts on at Knox
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
The Bankstown Bruins. Who were essentially the West Sydney Razorbacks some 20 years later. He coached them in 1982-83. He didn't have a sparkling record, but it's still a nice thing to have on your CV!
Johnno
Guest
Also TJ are class players like andrew Parkinson and Darren Lucas as well are from Victoria and rob sibley and brett wheeler and warick giddey.
TJ
Guest
Good article. Melbourne's inability to establish a succesful NBL scene is almost comparative to Western Sydney's inability to establish an A-League team. Melbourne and Victoria are the home of grassroots basketball, consistently dominating underage national championships, and as evident by the long list of national greats to have come from Victoria; Gaze, Heal, McKinnon, Bogut, Anstey, Bradtke, Jason Smith, Frank Drmic, Simon Dwight, Tony Ronaldson, David Andersen, Michelle Timms, Penny Taylor, Liz Cambage - six NBA players and three WNBA all-stars just in that lot. Australia's two best college players are Victorians, Matthew Dellavedova and Anthony Drmic. Go watch a junior match at Nunawading, Bulleen, Keilor and any of the South-Eastern suburbs court and you will see a standard of basketball that is truly exceptional. So how can such rich basketball history and foundation not derive into a strong basketball culture at a NBL level? Those running the NBL need to be questioned.
Sam
Guest
As an outsider who just stumbled across this thread, i thought I might throw in a random observation. I was lucky enough to grow up in Ballarat which still had a remnants of the American forces presence influencing the sporting options. I grew up playing footy, cricket, tennis, baseball, basketball, gymnastics and a few other odds and ends. I was not great at any of them but, among other things, played a few seasons of competition basketball. on going down to university in Melbourne most of that stopped. As a spectator I enjoy football and test cricket but have never thought of attending a basketball match - it's just too limited in its skill set and tactics - like soccer. Similarly I'm unlikely to join in a social basketball gme (even though my fading skills would probably allow me to dominate) if there is the chance to be a less than average participant in a ganme of footy. Just a view from the outside.
rob fuller
Guest
being a wildcats fan i can assure all concerned that if wc cant retain all their good players in the coming seasons they will not sell out the new venue at all. part of nbl problem is player churn,here one season gone the next. other problem is refs and the poor standard(or soft interpretations)spoils most games i watch. (member for 20plus years)
AB
Guest
Couldn't agree more the venue is a disgrace unfortunately rod laver and hisense are too expensive to rent out, luckily melbourne park is going through development and Margaret court arena will be made to accomodate basketball seating 7500 people the problem will be solved in a few years time. Another huge problem with the venue is it isnt easily accesible to the eastern suburbs ( which basketball has nation high participation in) and MCA will fix this creating a centrally located venue. Just wait basketball in melbourne will be back up again
Johnno
Guest
Reality I see is this for the NBL. Many others have said here and including me, the sport of basketball has changed massively since the 1980's and 90's. And I see many similiarities with the NBL and the A-league, and rugby union too. Basketball is now global sport like rugby is becoming, and teams have caught up to USA now in depth and standard of quality of players(eg spain,argentina, greece, italy, lithuania, Russia, and teams like france, Australia, turkey, china, iran, Isreal,NZ, England, croatia and serbia, and emerging Asian nations china, and phillipines). NBL used to be the 2nd best league in the world. Now with basketball being global the bigger populations of europe(Eurobasket), and chinese league (china 1 billion people), means the NBL cant compete for revenue, which means we no longer get the standard of imports like Dwayne mclain leroy loggins Ricky grace Doug overton And many others they go to eurobasket or chinese league where the bigger money is$$$$. Heck FC Barcelona beat the LA Lakers in a friendly pre season exhibition a few years ago from memory, and NBL teams has played but never beaten and NBA team in a match. And like the A-league the NBL, will not be able to compete in the global sports market with big euro and and Asian nations or USA, as it doesn't have the same money due to oz 22 million population size. All these countries have code wars too just bigger populations. And with global rugby now happening i see the same with rugby union and rugby league here, those sports will become production factories for rich asian and euro leagues, plus the expansion of usa rugby. And with 7evens rugby too further highlighting that. But like the A-league is trying to do and showing potential, we can still have a good league with national interest even if the A-league and NBL are 3rd string on the food chain compared to the big asian, European, and USA leagues.
Johnno
Guest
Which NBL team did your dad coach Ryan.
buck
Guest
i have gotten back into basketball in last couple of years and gone to the oz-boomers matches when on in Melbourne. I agree with Reece regarding The Cage. It just feels like it is in the middle of nowhere [in the parklands], plus it is not so cheap to go to the games. I much prefered the Dragons becasue they offered cheaper tickets and it was closer to this lazy posters home [down the hill]. Is there any chance the tigers may move to the new margaret court arena once it is a 7500 roofed venue when it is built? This will put them back in the centre of the city like all the other sports like football and AFL rugby and cricket.
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
Great piece, Michael. My old man was a head coach in the NBL, and I was basically born in a basketball stadium, so I have a vested (and possibly bias) opinion of the sport. I love it. My personal belief is that the NBL doesn't do a good enough job of promoting itself. Whether its marketing, advertising, PR, or promotions, it lags behind other sports. You can have the greatest product in the world, but if no one knows about it, they won't buy it. Now I'm not saying the NBL product is perfect, but it's improved over the last 24 months. And it needs more promoting. Obviously a large part of the lack of promotion is a lack of funds. But that simply calls for a creative solution. Approach an ad agency and tell them they can have a free corporate box at every home game (to entertain clients or reward staff). In return, the agency does pro bono work that helps promote the game/club. That's just one suggestion that could help build the profile of the game. I'm sure there are other solutions as well.
danno
Guest
we need some retired stars from the nba to give the nbl a lift. allen iverson or rasheed wallace. get someone. put the nba back on one also. bring the bullets back to the brisbane entertainment centre.
Punter
Guest
Funny you don't seem to spend as much time in the basketball tabs than you do in the football tabs though, wonder why? Both sports has huge competition from abroad from within their own sport, both the EPL & NBA are up there as the most popular sports competitions in the world. In football they have more than just the EPL as well. The advantage of a small sport like Australian Rules football, you have the best & worst competition in the world because no-one else plays this sport. The AFL is it, fullstop.
Adam
Guest
The disappointing part about the NBL is the standard of the players. 10 years ago if our top names were not in the NBA they were in the NBL..now most are spread across Europe and the NBL is left with 3rd string lineups! Great to see Mills come back and support the league whilst he could, but with such low salaies being offered the league cannot get the best possible players. The coaches are second rate which is leading to a 1990's style of play which looks stale and restricting some of the natural talent of the young athletic players. The NBA, Europe and even China have started to realise that free flowing basketball whilst not as technical, is far more exciting to watch...but the NBL has not embraced the concept as yet! In melbourne the major issue is that the Tigers had to move so far away from its supporter base to a stadium that cuts out the south eastern suburbs supporters. If "Shameful" McPeake new what was good for the club he would look at getting back to a venue like Hisense arena and bringing in the big crowds. Unfortunately the NBL dropped the ball after its boomtime and when Ric Burton came in to "save" the league all he did was set it back 10 years! the NBL needs a major overhaul and get some business minds into the administration rather than ex players who think they know what is best. insert joke here: read Rick Burton column in the NY times where he praises himself for the success he brought to the league and the "issues" he had to deal with (he created!!). http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/sports/basketball/ Stern-Must-Balance-NBAs-Viability-and-Visibility .html?_r=1&ref=basketball I am happy with the TV deal the NBL has and like the effort they are showing. They are doing all the right things and it is a double edge sword where they will invest better timeslots once the NBL gets a bigger supporter base...but until that point the NBL is going to be a minnow entertainment sport with a massive junior playing base!
Jess
Guest
not going to happen :P GO THE WILDCATS!
sam
Guest
Great Atricle..... Having free to air games is very important for the NBL. But to have a successful Sydney team like we had in the 90's the owners need to look seriously at the following....... Marketing (TV advertisement is non existent), a better coach and real quality imports like the D Train..... Who was one of the most recognisable sports person in Sydney and the main reason I attended the games. Not for their winning ability (violet crumbles).
Travis Reid
Guest
Regarding the Dragons, they chose to walk away from the league, the NBL didn't force them out. They were a victim of a two-owner situation where one owner wanted to continue and the other didn't. The NBA v NBL on TV argument is an interesting one, and I'm sure one that wasn't considered by the NBL when they chose to move the season to summer. The notion of having a sport compete against itself is an interesting one, and there are a lot of people that will argue when it comes to watching games on TV, most would choose to watch the NBA as the superior version of the sport, as compared to the NBL. Speaking of summer, Chris above has mentioned the BBL, and its certainly worth considering the impact of the changes to the summer sporting landscape in Australia and the impact this has on the NBL's growth. The NBL moved to summer to get away from the football codes that dominate the winter sports market, into a summer space that was reasonably quiet back in 1998. Since that time we've seen the introduction of the A-League, the Australian Baseball League and now the Big Bash League, which is eating into available media space in the major newspapers (well, not so much the baseball). Whilst they dont own the market share that AFL and NRL do, there is now an argument that summer presents more sporting options than winter, so people have more choice. The NBL have decided to stay in summer, and they justified this decision by saying it presented a better opportunity for them to achieve a free-to-air deal. Whilst that might have proven to be true at the time, the demise of a free-to-air sports channel in One HD may cause them to revisit their stance in three years time when the current deal expires. They may find the Ten network a more willing partner if they move the sport back to its rightful winter timeslot, considering Ten don't have AFL coverage anymore. In respect of the big cities, Melbourne and Brisbane specifically, you again have to look at how much the markets have changed since the so-called 'glory days' of the NBL. In Melbourne, we've seen the introduction of the following sports teams since 1999 - Melbourne Storm (League), Melbourne Victory (Soccer), Melbourne Vixens (Netball), Melbourne Rebels (Rugby), Melbourne Heart (Soccer), Melbourne Aces (Baseball) and most recently Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades (Cricket). In Brisbane, which experienced a real boom at Bullets games in the 1980's, whilst not quite as dramatic as Melbourne, have since 1987 had to deal with the introduction of AFL and NRL teams in the Lions and Broncos respectively, plus recent additions in most of the leagues I mentioned above regarding Melbourne. Brisbane were effectively a one-team sports town 1979 to 1988 with the Bullets having it all to themselves, as even though the AFL arrived in 1987, that sport didn't really take hold for close to a decade.
sam
Guest
Having free to air games is very important for the NBL. But to have a successful Sydney team like we had in the 90's the owners need to look seriously at the following....... Marketing (TV advertisement is non existent), a better coach and real quality imports like the D Train..... Who was one of the most recognisable sports person in Sydney and the main reason I attended the games. Not for their winning ability (violet crumbles).