It appears from what I can workout on nba.com (the shocking upgrade of that website with constant pop up ads is another thread entirely) is that ESPN havnt got teh coverage rights for any games until Friday. TNT and NBATV seem to have it all wrapped up until Suns V Grizzlies on Friday (US Time)
Looks like we are stuck with the cocker spaniel and the Choo Choo shot till at leats teh weekend.

There are 6 games down the right hand side of the NBA page which it seems ESPN (and ESPN 2) have rights to, yet they are only showing one game on Sunday (Spurs vs Nuggets)!!!

Dont forget Tommy Smyth with a Y on premier leageue press pass. This guy really gives me the shits

Im sure doddobird remembers him. By the way Happy Birthday mate.

The lack of coverage in Australia can be put down to the fact that the NBA is placing a high price on its product. Sure ESPN in the US has extensive coverage, but ESPN International (provided to Aust through Foxtel) has to draw up its own contract with the NBA. ESPN issued a press release at the start of the season detailing it has the rights to televise (from memory) around 40 games this season. So obviously ESPN International only had the funds to secure rights to 40-something games. Therefore viewers are subjected to soccer and other sports which are most likely more economical. I am just as frustrated as anyone with the minimal approach to coverage, and can now see the reasoning behind FTA networks not paying top dollar for a sport that is perceived as having limited appeal.

CHOO-CHOO!,
ESPN PLAYS OF THE WEEK!,
I'M TOMMY SMYTH WITH A Y!,
DUE TO TIME CONSTRAINTS WE MOVE AHEAD IN OUR PROGRAMMING!
IT DRIVES ME F***ING INSANE!!!!!!!

I whipped out the chatanooga choo choo shot when I was playing for $100 bucks at the Gepps Cross Hotel.

The Rebels biker didn't appreciate the immense skill involved...

Very funny doc, love your work!

Anonymous, the main reason I got Foxtel was exactly that, for the NBA! Like I said, last season there was a game on every night, this year it's absolutely ridiculous!

"Old balls", how can you say..."Therefore viewers are subjected to soccer and other sports which are most likely more economical" are you saying that Bassmaster and some dog show are more economical than Basketball????
As Rove says..."WHAT THE!"

Bugger this, i'm going home...to watch ESPN's History of Cricket!!!
Yay!

Doc ...


That shot is gold .

Have you seen the ones where they feature trick players having a bad day ?? .. one guy took 64 shots to make a trick pot !! He was sweating worse than Dean Uthoff's shoes in the 80's !!!

Just for you interest this is my correspondance with ESPN International a few weeks ago.

I pretty much given up on the NBA in australia and I no longer have any enthusiasm for the playoffs. what is the point if we get the crap we get !!!??


anyway everyone should contact espn international and FOxtel and tell them what you think. It's not going to prove unless you let the source know about it !!!
---------------------------
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Thank you for your recent email. We've shared your comments with the senior management as well as the programming department.

ESPN's next telecast will be San Antonio Spurs vs. Denver Nuggets on April 30, live, at 10:30 pm (NY Time). Additional match-ups will be listed on ESPN's website http://www.international.espn.com/intltv/ once available. We will also cover the Western Conference Series Finals.

Remember to check our website as all information on our schedules is updated nightly.

While we appreciate your frustration, the ESPN/NBA agreement in Australia is not the same as the ESPN/NBA agreement in the US. Therefore our coverage is not the same on our domestic networks as they are for our international networks.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Speedy
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 9:35 PM
To: International Networks
Subject: NBA Playoffs


ESPN coverage has really gone to the dog .. literally. thanks for the "k9" coverage. It's sure is
rivetting viewing !!!!

whilst we in this region do not expect the extended coverage you have in the US. we at least expect some good coverage of the most important time of the season in the NBA.

You've really cooled down my enthusiasm for the Playoffs with your weak coverage. What can we really look forward to and reduced to ? - reading the playoffs in the the internet ?

What is the point in advertising the NBA or showing it all if you are going to give us a half hearted attempt at it and not do at least a descent job. If you can't get the proper contracts with the NBA and treat your viewers with this sort of contempt then do NOT advertise at all. It's just an embarressment.

Please DO NOT call yourself the Worldwide Leader in Sports anymore because you are clearly are NOT in this region.

the basketball fans and in our forums are clearly looking for an alternative. Every fan here in this region is clearly upset and disappointed and we will discuss other options.

Hopefully in the future we will get NBA TV or an NBA - League Pass to solve this problem as clearly ESPN is no longer dedicated to providing NBA Basketball in this region

anyway everyone should contact espn international and FOxtel and tell them what you think. It's not going to IMPROVE unless you let the source know about it !!

spelling b's, dog shows, fishing and poker adds. This is the crap that dominates the coverage of the so called "world wide leader in sports". I mean why show game seven of the eastern conference finals when you can show junk like womens billiards and last years world poker series. What a joke, if espn cant have a half decent coverage of the nba, especially the playoffs, then simply stop pretending that you do, because clearly your not the world wide leader in sports.

espn is a joke!
the NBA show playoff games for 50 or so countries and none in australia what so ever! that bull**** man, don't tell me 3rd world countries can afford the rights to watch NBA games and we can't. that's tight like a nun's *****

i get so desperate to watch games and so i just download them off bittorrent sites.
http://bt.davka.info/
woo hoo...(add sarcasm here)

Starburst, espn are currently covering the NBA playoffs...Yes they didn't show all playoff games as we would have liked but at least they have the finals on.

Agree - FOXTEL sucks - why give money to Packer and Murdoch twice.
Just dont have FOXTEL and maybe things will look up. You will have more money!!!

we all need to call and complain to foxtel, perhaps even email espn international and complain to tem too because something needs to change. I cant afford $70.00 a month just to watch 3 games. Its a joke.

i kno how u all feel abou nba in aus, i myself am a huge nba fan.. i moved to toronto,canada in january.. after livin in australia 4 17 yrs.. damn was i happy wit the nba, i got nba tv here.. n about 5 other sport channels that show nba.. regular season i get to c just about every game every nite.. as much of a fan i am i actually started to sick of watching so much basketball!! sumtimes i jus dunno which game to watch :| n playoffs shows everything.. but i have heard rumours of nbatv heading to austrlia.. anyway i hope nba starts showing more games for u guys... good luck

foxtel here is a joke. why people pay to watch the odd game of nab is beyond me. download it free, then maybe the programmers will be forced to put some more games on tv... oh yeh and then i'll subscribe again!

All I can say is that I'm currently waiting for my contract to expire and will be cutting off my Foxtel as soon as that occurs. When you pay for Foxtel you're really just paying for the Simpsons as that is the only decent thing on that is shown consistently.
Screw Foxtel, I have also found alternative means to watch NBA so who needs them? I want them to go broke.

Thank you for your recent email. We have shared your comments with the senior management in the region as well as the programming department for their review.


ESPN broadcasts games for which we are contracted by the NBA to televise.

Our coverage of the playoffs in the region will consist of 8 early round playoff games, the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA finals.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Ronald Speedy [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sunday, April 02, 2006 10:38 PM
To: International Networks
Subject: Playoff coverage


ESPN

Now that the NBA Playoffs are just around the corner can we please have feedback on the type of coverage we are going to get in the Australian region ?

Last year was the worst coverage I have had the misfortune to encounter, it was pathetically embarrassing. I do NOT understand why ESPN can provide such comprehensive coverage of other sports such as Soccer or College Basketball (which nobody is interested in, in Austrlaia) yet reserve the worst coverage for the NBA.

Are we to expect only 1 game a week, only 1 Conference Finals series and a threat of NOT covering the NBA Finals at all this year as was the case last year ??

I 'd like to know so I can decide whether it's worth the money and effort in purchasing ESPN for the NBA Playoffs or if I need to find other means ?

thanks

he is exagerating a tad, but hes right in that there are 10x the nba followers in australia than college basketball followers. The fact is they show less of the best basketball league in the world and more of a bunch of uni kids shooting 3s.

can someone tell me who won game 5 of cavs v wizards. turned tv off and went to bed with 15 sec to go, couldnt handle one more ad. it makes me that mad i just want to break something.

Where I come from every third kid wheres some kind of NBA jersey in the street and that's with no NBA coverage on TV. NBA.com gets a ridiculous amount of hits from Australian residents as it is usually our only way of getting our NBA results. Bring the NBA back to Australia and watch the support in the local leagues rise!!

I purchased Foxtel so I could view a full line up of major sporting events esp. nba,nfl and mlb. Now I learn that we here in Aust. are limited to one nba playoff game per week.

This is just the news I needed to cancel my Foxtell contract entirely.