Yep, its been "close" for long time now. Seems the same story is being used every few months about this.

Hope it actually is getting close and that a deal will be announced.

Foxtel is the most likely option although this would be slightly inconvenient for myself. I would be more than happy with a quality live streaming service.

I remember reading that Perform made most their money from NBL TV by selling the streams to Sports Betting services. Would it be worth the NBL producing their own content and selling the streams in a similar fashion ?

For the NBL to become viable on Free to air it needs to take a step back to go forward and that means Fox is the best option and once it gets established then it can look to free to air. I just hope Fox can give it the coverage it deserves 5 games a week would be brilliant combined with a league pass would be a success considering how late LK took over the league.

I can't see why so many people think that pay tv is the panacea to all ills.

If you look at the tv ratings in general, the top rated show on FTA had ratings of 1,392,000; the 10th rated show had 922,000 (OzTAM for week ending 15/8/15, published in SMH 24/8/15).

The top rated show on pay tv had 104,000. That is: one-tenth of the no. 1 show on FTA.

In general terms of market share, FTA has about 78%, pay 22% (OzTAM again).

When the NBL jumped in bed with pay tv, its exposure on FTA plummeted. It barely rates a mention in any of the FTA news services, even the national broadcaster who have a history of supporting the "niche" sports (anyone remember "Jack High"?)

When Channel 10 did present a glimmer of hope for basketball fans, showing NBA games as well as NBL, Packer and Murdoch juniors stepped in to try and shore up their pay tv interests.

Some of the regional networks (eg WIN for the Hawks) do a reasonable coverage of the NBL, even if it's focussed on their own team. The problem with this is that there are very few regional teams. There are very few teams ...

So, IMHO, the NBL should forget about trying to relive the boom times of the '90s when teams like Perth, Sydney and Brisbane moved into multi-thousand seat centres (Brisbane who?). And the salivation that began in NBL HQ with pay tv. They should remember how the boom times started: with FTA tv (esp the ABC) and teams with a local/regional identity

I'd like to see them but their way onto 7Mate, we have to trust that the talent that this league has will get viewers and I think it's through FTA that we can all see just how much LK is willing to advertise our league and I'm sure if we are paying then 7 will be more than happy to advertise it on their 3 channels also so they can compete with Big Bash and international cricket.

still need a way a streaming service though if the games aren't uploaded to Plus7

All games live on Foxtel with 2 games a weeks on sold to Seven or Nine on slight delay with no digital rights would IMO be the best/most realistic result for fans and the game.

First of all, I highly doubt FTA would broadcast all games, let alone live (sport on delay isn't sport). Foxtel would offer a live and better quality high def picture than FTA and streaming, even once FTA switch their main channels to HD it still doesn't compare to Foxtel HD. This will allow it to be shown in pubs as well, giving it more exposure. A small FTA coverage will allow the game to gain exposure for both fans and sponsors while those who want and can/like to pay for a premium product can do so in the knowledge they are getting the best - it also allows Foxtel to test the waters and see that the NBL IS worth it, so that when the next rights deal is discussed, the NBL can then try and work a Online Rights component into the mix.

Keep in mind, if it does go to Foxtel, and you don't have or wish to have Fox, you can always find someone you know who does have Foxtel and ask to use one of their Foxtel Go accounts (each account has three devices they can use) and use that streaming service to watch the games. It's actually a pretty good service.

"All games live on Foxtel with 2 games a weeks on sold to Seven or Nine on slight delay with no digital rights would IMO be the best/most realistic result for fans and the game."

"No way in hell Fox would agree to that."

So you don't think they would be interested in on-selling one or two games a week to a FTA channel on the proviso it was on a slight delay? Wouldn't they make more money that way?

Anon 546400:
"I would've liked to see LK use his money to pay a FTA network to televise the NBL. If LK never came on board I could understand the NBL going back cap in hand to Foxtel but they shouldn't need to now"

Im assuming that would be LK's last resort option if he can't get a deal of some kind in place. There isn't anything wrong with trying to secure a deal first without having to pay for it. Its a good fall back plan though.

The NBL needs to also make money, not just be on TV for goodwill to their fans. If worse comes to worse, I'd like to see LK pay to be on TV if need be, just to keep the fans happy, though I imagine it would be only a short term plan.

"Fox always tries to get exclusivity unless they don't have the power "

You're right, I suppose it would be difficult for the NBL to say "Here, you can have the rights Fox, pls give us monies, but can u plz sell a FTA a game or 2", then you have Foxtel who, as you say, always want that exclusivity.

Maybe it's going to be Foxtel or a live stream/FTA combo.

^ ummm no it doesnt. A League lost 30 million bucks last year.

Foxtel offers no value to sponsors, it only works for teams if they get money for the broadcast rights to offset the sponsorship that they will not get

Foxtel averages 1/10 the eyeballs that FTA offers. So your $400,000 sponsorship for naming rights is now only worth $40,000 leaving the team with a significant shortfall.

Fox Sports is much better quality now than it was a few years ago. I have confidence that if they picked up the rights they would do a great job.

A League clubs lost a combined 15 million in 13/14.

14 /15 isnt published as yet

11/12 was 27 million loss
12/13 was 20 million loss

62 million dollars lost in 3 seasons. Lots of A League owners wished they had an NBL team :)

Thing is the A League gets a pass from everyone and seems to get gov funding etc while other sports go to the brink, ours included

As the old saying goes, "beggars can't be choosers". The NBL would probably be lucky to get a deal on Foxtel at the moment; a couple of months of decent management wont make up for the damage of a decade.

Casual fans who hear of the situation yawn, and say "oh the NBL can't even make FTA? So nothing has changed." I think Kestleman has done a great job in a short space of time, the TV deal is just going to reflect the current situation, and not the hopes and aspirations of Kestleman.

A deal on Foxtel screening all games would be a great outcome for the league. I would be very happy with that. The league needs to walk before it can run.

How is the A league becoming stronger when Brisbane and Newcastle are on the verge of collapse. The only thing keeping them going is a good TV deal

All games live on Fox, get it done, I personally think its an impossible reach for the NBL to get anything live on FTA at the moment. Would be great to get all games live on Fox and move from there. Remember it was only a couple years ago that the A league wasn't even on FTA at all too.

Also anyone who says the A league isn't on the up is dreaming. Even the AFL are a little worried about them.

Getting all games live on Fox is just unrealistic people. Fox would mostly likely be unwilling to cover production costs for a sport that will deliver mediocre ratings at best. Three games a week would be more realistic

Fox provides production and a reasonable fee for mostly mediocre A-League ratings, so just production might be possible for the NBL.

The real difference between the two is soccer can sell a popular national team as well, which is what a good chunk of the dollars are for.

The Boomers are slowly starting to become more popular, and the new FIBA calendar should help, but at this point they can't really be sold together.

I might be missing something but the NBL hasn't had a league major sponsor since iinet and with the talent in the league this season surely this has to be rectified and monies should go towards a tv deal anyway that it can.

Any idea what the league will do with Breakers games shown in Australia... Would it be only in the state of the team playing over there or could it be shown on FTA over here nation wide ?

Netball and football are culturally imbedded sports in the Australian psyche, basketball isn't.

FTA TV is only reflective of that psyche and networks, being risk adverse, are giving the public what they think the public wants.

Same goes for cricket and soccer is quickly taking ground on these sports that also include rugby in the northern states.

While basketball did have its place a few decades ago, we are now left with the situation of being one of the most popular junior sports, without the equivalent level of support from the media in regards to our national competition.

There is only a finite amount of FTA money and coverage, so if we can continue to present a product and competition that people want to see on FTA TV I am sure we will get there...

At least we seem to be heading in the right direction, perhaps we just need some more patience?

TV, whether FTA or pay, need advertisers to make it marketable and viable.

Australia does not have the population to make a FTA deal viable, as their audiences tune into mainstream programming when the NBL will be shown !

Interesting to see the makeup of this deal, though !

I think the G in GWB stands for "gullible." He is the epitome of people lapping up nonsense just because he was told what he wanted to hear.

The biggest obstacle for the FTA deal is that the NBL doesn't have media buying sponsors.

AFL, NRL and A League have tier 1 sponsors that spend big money buying TV.

Every NRS for AFL is a monster corporate that the FTA can then leverage on to buy more ad space or the "proudly presented by XYZ "

V8 supercars have this too. I was once told a story where every sponsor of a V8 car was contacted by the broadcaster asking how much their budget for TV was. Those that said 0 were rarely shown on TV despite being successful. Meanwhile mid pack teams that had sponsors buy ad space were regularly featured on broadcasts.

Until the NBL jags a tier 1 NRS and each NBL team a tier 2 regular FTA is a dream

That is the commercial reality.

"I think the G in GWB stands for "gullible." He is the epitome of people lapping up nonsense just because he was told what he wanted to hear."

What the hell is with that? What is so gullible about what I just said? I said the NBL are beggars, not choosers who would be lucky to get a foxtel deal. Is that not pretty fucking obvious? Or are you chastising me for comments that you assume I made but that I actually didn't? You're a fuckwit and you need to stop with calling me out without any real substance to back it up

Half a dozen other people saying pretty similar things, yet I am the one you single out?

"A couple of months of decent management..."

"great job in a short space of time..."

The current management has done nothing except tell people what they want to hear. You're gullible because you lap it up without actually considering what is and isn't being done.

They've achieved next to nothing so far (fair enough, its only been a short time) but calling what they've done "great" is ridiculous. They have also exposed the league to issues in the past that almost killed it (eg another arms race that only half the clubs can afford, a massive conflict of interest in a club owner also owning the league, tv deal being relegated to Foxtel) but for some reason you are happy to stick the boot in to previous management when these guys are doing exactly the same things!

Wake up to yourself. A new logo and website re-branding is not going to save the league!

With Patty Mills as ambassador for the NBL they should have lobbied NITV. Im guessing they didn't.

Doubt we will ever get live production of all games on TV. Have you *any* idea what it costs to do an outside broadcast from Cairns or Townsville? When the OB trucks have to come up from Brisbane? Let's be a tad serious here...

The only reason NBL.TV worked was that local production companies had the equipment to make it happen (occasionally).

Theyve done the things they can do at this point. When a TV deal is announced all of a sudden the picture will look much rosier. Almost any deal would be better than the one we had on Ten, and we need to come to terms with the fact that FTA at this point is pretty unrealistic.

We have a new Logo - yes. But the logo is actually about alleviating some of the stigma attached to the old brand. It will take a while, but it is the first step. We have a new ball: The deal with Wilson is not "nothing", they are a well respected brand. It is not as-though we signed up with Dunlop or something. We have a new, and far superior website which is actually capable of keeping fans up to date, and which posts new articles almost daily. Really, how much more could be expected so soon? As soon as a TV deal is announced, things will look much better. Kestleman also says he has some sponsors to announce... I know it is a bit late in the off season, but lets just see? As for Sydney's situation, I am not sure how that is Kestlemans fault. As Chalmers alluded to before berating me, some things are the fault of the clubs.

"We have a new ball: The deal with Wilson is not "nothing", they are a well respected brand. It is not as-though we signed up with Dunlop or something."

Not sure if thats a strawman or a red herring but that is the worst argument I have ever heard regarding the recent "success" of the league.

Again, I "berated" you because you are so quick to stick the boot in to past management of the league, while fellating the current management group for every single they do despite them exposing the league to issues of the past which almost killed it.

All I can say, is a TV deal - if and when announced - will do a lot to allay your concern

"As Chalmers alluded to before berating me, some things are the fault of the clubs."

If you can acknowledge that some things are the fault of the clubs, stop blindly blaming "the league" for everything that went wrong.

A tv deal on Foxtel will not allay my fears, and will not be an improvement on what have had previously with Ten.

I feel earlier and then GWB fell later

Dumb post made even dumber by dumb typo :(

On someone's sword.

Anything will be an improvement on 10 especially for those living in the west where we have had to accept at times 4-5 hour delays on friday night and 3 hour delays on Sunday. I would be happy just to get some live sport once again.

"You need more time to judge whether someone has ' done nothing"

No you don't. Up until now, he has not delivered. That doesnt mean he wont deliver, and its a very harsh way of viewing the entire scenario but at this point in time, he has "done nothing" of any significance.

I'm against Foxtel because besides the NBL I would have no use for it.

I have a feeling that you are somehow involved with the prior leadership, Chalmers. It is probably fair to say he has not YET delivered in a few key areas (that would be unreasonable to expect him to have done yet), however this has already been a more active, interactive and promising off season than any in recent memory. Are you going to propose he isn't doing better than the NBL last off season? The season before? The one before that? Of course he is. The NBL as an organisation has conducted itself pathetically until now, and a guy comes in, literally puts his money where his mouth is, and you are saying he hasn't delivered because he hasn't turned the situation around overnight?

All games on Foxtel IS better than being at the whim of channel ten. Do you remember the early channel ten days of 1 am games? "Live" games that weren't actually live? Then at the end they threw us a bone and gave us a live Sunday match? Whoopty doo. Channel ten never came close to caring about the NBL - and there was fair reason to that, but how can you say every game live on Fox Sports would be a step down from that? The league needs to build, sometimes you have to go backwards to go forwards, and we are not the hot ticket for FTA.

But go on, say something smug about me, while simultaneously trying to excuse the idiocy and ridiculousness of the NBL's past 15 years - blaming it on the teams before realising that a strong league would better be able to help those teams in the first place. I am sure we will find out you're Kristina Keneally or Rick Burton or something.

You really are quite stupid GWB. You can't comprehend the simplest of statements, just because they don't sit well with your own baffling perceptions of what is going on. You shift the goalposts of what may or may not have happened, throw in some ridiculous comparisons, then go the strawman for good measure.

I'm saying he hasn't delivered because at this point in time, he hasn't delivered. I'm not criticisng him at all for not delivering at this point in time. Just pointing out that he hasn't delivered. If he delivers tomorrow, then he will have delivered. As of now, not delivered. Is that really hard to understand?

My criticism is reserved for idiots like you who are claiming that he has achieved so much when he hasn't, or that the previous management completely dropped the ball without considering everything they were up against. Feel free to misinterpret that to mean that I think the previous management were doing a fantastic job.

I have zero involvement in the NBL at any level, other than of a longtime fan, but I have seen enough in other walks of life to know that a re-branding of the logo and a shiny new turd....er, basketball is not even close to being the solution to the problem.

My baffling perception of what is happening is echoed across this board. The fact that he has done all that can be expected of him given the situation. I have a bit of faith in the guy given his credentials, track record and investment in the situation. It has already been a more eventful off season than almost any in memory. A truly baffling perspective, I know.

I was excited a couple of seasons ago when the Cats struck a deal with an NBA club to be some sort of feeder for their second round picks (even though we know it wasn;t the case, it was still a good selling point). I was even more excited last season when a few other clubs followed suit and we saw an influx of talent from the fringe of the NBA, plus returning MVP's. This year, there has been another increase in the talent signed and/or returning and I'm further excited.

At no stage this off season have I thought "this is all thanks to Larry." I put more weight in to the steady growth that we've seen in the league since BA left for being where we are right now.

Okay, you have seen a lot of promise develop into little over the years, and you want to see it before you believe it? - fair.

I just don't think it warrants the kind of personal attacks on me that it has caused. We disagree on some things, but on others we actually do agree, just as I do with your above comment.

Maybe I am easy impressed by things like logos, new balls, new websites and the like; but a rebranding is a very positive thing to me - a person who has hated how the NBL has previously branded itself, hated the ball and the basically dead website.

I do consider those things he has done major, but sure, they might be small in the context of actually resurrecting the league. I guess we will find out sometime this year whether this is all going in the direction it needs to.

"I put more weight in to the steady growth that we've seen in the league since BA left for being where we are right now."

Really, this dates back to 2009 when the league nearly fell over and the remaining clubs deciding to act sensibly and build slowly.

Following that we saw steady growth up until last year, when the clubs were basically left to fend for themselves, the NBL changed strategic direction a couple of times and the chance to impress a network leading up to the end of the Ten deal was wasted.

Hopefully this year the league re-engages in its own product, though I agree it's far too early to pronounce anything a success or otherwise. That pudding's not even in the oven.

The longer they don't announce something, the longer it doesn't appear to be a HD Streaming service.

Lol agreed. No one can say Kestleman hasn't put his money where his mouth is.

Why should I invest in the league?

2 more times

Biggie Smalls

Ummmmm, the A-League losses have been falling for years. They are around 10m now. For a national football league with 27 rounds plus finals as well as the FFA Cup and Asian Champions League matches to play all over the nation and the continent - that is a remarkable figure for several reasons.

1. It's the clubs that have lost the money, not the league, with most of it being Sydney FC who have a Russian oligarch as an owner who couldn't care less about this small fry loss relative to his broader business. That being said, even Sydney FC are getting heir financial house sorted.

2. The losses at $10m are a fraction of what they were, with all but 3 clubs either making a profit or going close at last report.

3. Despite the losses, there are people who still desperately want to get A-League licenses in the next round of TV funded expansion, with consortia in Canberra, Wollongong, Townsville, Sutherland Shire, Tasmania, South Melbourne and others....

4. If you think $10m is a lot, because you reference it against the NBL, what you forget is that the football economy is vastly bigger and only now commercialising. $10m is not a lot of money for a tier one sport. The value and annual turnover of Melbourne Victory (estimated on a recent share offering and company reporting at $35m and $15m respectively) dwarf the entire NBL. Dwarf it.

5. Whatever the ratings and attendances dip that the three big football codes are all experiencing now - you can bet most of it relates to the state of the general economy and its impact on discretionary household expenditure, not a fundamental shift in the fundamentals of football (all codes) as a business.

6. Every few years, whatever the state of the A-League, the Socceroos make it rain for football with the Asia Cup and World Cup. With the league capitalised now, football is in a far better position to weather the storm than it has ever been before.

7. A-League clubs are now all planning or building purpose built football academies and community hubs with state governments, state federations and other partners. These will cement them in their communities, create another reveu base for clubs as well as creating football factories to feed the international market.

8. The "government finding" argument has never held water and to use it is desperate. The A-League gets a fraction of what the NRL and AFL get every year. Apart from WSW money that funded their women's team I am aware of no government funding that has gone to the A-League since the $17m LOAN it received when it was re-booted. Government funding to football goes to grass roots facilities, the now infamous WC bid and various sports development programs. Much the same as it does all sport. One of the reasons football gets so much government funding for grass roots sport is that the ASC dole it out of a registered participants basis - and guess which sport is number one by a country mile there? If you want to complain about codes getting funding for infrastructure beyond their registration profile (and Basketball has a legitimate gripe there IMO) you should look at the AFL and NRL. Football haven't got a cent.

9. last but not least, the Whole of Football Plan just launched is a vast 20 year vision of the 2nd wave of reform for football - including its federated model of governance. Do yourself a favour and go have a read. It's precisely this sort of long term thinking that turns a popular grass roots participation sport into a tier one commercial sport.

People comparing the existential trials of the NBL to the growing pains of football and the A-League in particular need to take a tablet. The two sports are incomparable.