I think it was definitely the most successful year TV wise since 2001, the last on ABC; crowds wise since 2003; and web wise ever. So it was a good one, but getting a good TV outcome for next season is a shadow over what is going on, as is the fact that most clubs still arent making money, even if most are heading in the right direction.

Things are good with a big asterisk would be my assessment.

Breakers winning a title has been huge in promoting local players and the game over here in NZ. Overall Tv coverage was good apart from having to watch so many Kings games but such is life lol

Last year certainly took a turn in right direction.
Still a few clubs on the edge but what looks like could be a very even competition if some of lower teams can get right imports etc should keep some sort of momentum happening .
If can and somehow get 2nd Melb. team and Bullets back following year would be huge .

ok, lets bring back the context.

a) naming rights - great
b) centrebet - great
c) ball sponsor - replaced another one, and have now fragmented the scene badly with all state bodies signing with molten (poor, poor deal)
d) uniform sponsor - centralized what the clubs otherwise had individually
e) TV on FTA. Was excellent news for the league, but remains to be seen whether the work to sign them and the collateral damage in pissing off Fox will come back and hurt very very badly. TV as i said here previously, started brilliantly, but tailed very badly. Of course it was up on fox but that just means the tailing is even more serious because by the end of the season some games were getting less viewers than Fox used to - and that means cardiac arrest time for TV and NBL....
f) Crowds were up on average, mainly because of Kings and Cairns, but are in serious decline in Townsville, poor for melbourne, are not growing in Wollongong or Adelaide and are in financially damaging condition in Gold Coast. If the Kings have another crap season, and cairns fall away, average crowd gains will struggle to be maintained
g) web, no idea, what are we comparing it to - are there any previously published figures?

once again I encourage you all to read beyond and think beyond the press release..... its their hype, their effort to pump up the tyres and they will only provide the "facts" that suit the NBL's thesis ....

I question where the growth will come from. Sports biggest money comes from
Media and naming rights which they have sold. None of that money makes it back to the clubs which is a concern. What assets are left to sell for worthwhile dollars? there would not have been one club that made a profit last season.

Look at how flushed the afl is for cash yet only a few clubs make money.

Pro sports is a definite money pit.

pro sports in general seems to be hurting,players getting paid too much to play sport,door prices lowering to attract people = team eventually going broke.

i spose at least nbl wages are a little 'more' real- entry takings/memberships vs cost of the event.the footy codes in oz must take a hammering financially when small crowds turn out in big arenas.
afl/nrl have the ability to save clubs financially rather then damaging the brand with them going broke.

a big problem last nbl finals series for ba&nbl teams was they couldnt capitalise fully on the number of people wanting to see the finals series,with most of these games selling out in record time.
i know for sure the final in cairns could have had 8-9,000 people, same as the nz grandfinal,maybe more.
should it be compulsory that clubs in major cities be able to switch larger venues within that city for their finals series ??

Anon, I understand all about why they spin, I just wish people here, who question everything in the sport, would not just naievely swallow what they dish out. "Crowds are up ... yay yay" - well actually there not, really....

Skull, interesting point you make about players and monies. Certainly one of the challenges the NBL has is salaries.

There are 700+ players in the AFL, average salary of 226k. There are around 100 in the NBL, average around 100k.

That means a bunch of guys on the bench are earning 40-70k, which just does not campare to the security of getting a job as a teacher or as a tradie when those guys often have little chance of getting other basketball jobs overseas and they have short term contracts etc etc.

Ho, I can assure you there is more security of employment as a basketball player than there is as a non permanent teacher!!

HO-maybe that means the bench players, per minute played in a 40 min game, are now over paid !!!

seriously though,our (semi)professional NBL....with low door prices....average/low player wages
......with average/good attendances....and a bit of fta viewing......may well be the most sustainable product in(semi)pro sports today.