I always said I'd never call any poster on here a wanker, but I was wrong!

Possibly a bit harsh Fill Smythe, while I dont agree with all that nickyg has posted one thing I think we are all underestimating is the actual depth of poo that the world (and most definately Australia no matter what our beloved leaders want us to hear) is going to be in over the next 12 - 18 months.

The global financial crisis/meltdown/debacle - call it what you will - is going to have a massive effect on all of us. Having the NBL trying to relaunch in such a dire conomic climate is bad timing to say the least and the pressure will be on ALL teams wanting to be involved.

The more I think about it the only sensible option is too hold off a year, get the foundations right and come back stronger in the future.

I say pretty well said Nickyg.

Fill, the lowest common demoninator resorts to profanity instead of providing worthy debate, well done on that.

To close the league down for a year means to close it down forever. The NBL are trying to make team owners responsible for what is their own problem of their own making.
B/Ball in America is one of the most popular sports, and is a multi-million $ industry.
B/Ball in Australia is not one of those things, & therefore American principles applied by American CEO's have been proven to be less than successful.
In another topic, I mentioned Free To Air TV. If anything is going forward, it needs to be accessable to EVERYONE, not just those who have Fox.
One of the reasons AFL is successful is because it's everywhere. You cannot go a day without hearing or seeing something about it.
The NBL, IMO, should take our sport to the people rather than create an impost for teams & their owners.

Agree on the Free to Air, IMO the switch to fox had a fair bit to do with the decline of the NBL.

Why would a tv station commit ratings suicide by picking up bball? It's been tried & failed. Fox does a great job televising the game but it has its limits.

How many people watch a live game? In a country with 20 mill people less than 20,000. That is 0.001%. If you don't believe me get some stats from Fox. Mine are from a reliable source.

Everyone talks about free to air & fix the grass roots, i'm tired of hearing it. It needs to start again & be built on a solid foundation - which means all bids must comply with the rules!

I hope Hemmering is enjoying his vacation whilst his beloved sixers are teetering on the edge.

Maybe he's got Fill Smythe & ESP running it for him - not good news for sixer fans!!

Well nick, I did do some research, and I found out that in 2008 29% of Australians had Foxtel, and that projected growth in 2010 would take that to 32%.
We can assume(I don't have stats) that 90+% of people would have Free To Air TV, so we can assume that the potential market is 3 times bigger on FTA.
You need to have the solid foundation you mention, but if you don't have grass roots b/ball,people appeal, and good marketing strategy then the good foundation is worthless.
And while I don't have the qualifications to run the 6ers, I have been a season ticket holder since 1985, and the prospect my team going under because the people who ARE in the position to do something about it, but don't appear to be, pisses me off.

Well said Fill.

I did actually see some merit in your initial post Nick, but you are clearly a moron.

Maybe you are too young to remember the good old days when all could turn the tv on and see nbl on channel 2 or 10.

Pull your head out of your arse, where your unfounded statistics came from.....

Grass roots basketball has never been bigger Fill Smythe. Kids playing the game & clinics etc. has never been bigger. The problem is putting those kids & parents into an nbl game on the weekend instead of a footy codes stadium. Afl, Nrl,A league & Union etc. Cricket is the summer sport the nbl preferred to go up against by moving to a summer league but all have impacted basketball. Kids are playing it & not bothering to watch it.

Sengstock has noted that basketball did a great job in the late 80's & early 90's of capturing a niche in the market & now the other codes have stood up to the challenge! The nbl now needs to do exactly that & get better. For that to happen they need foundation & time. A few more sleeps won't kill us. They need to get it right!

How many people who have Foxtel does not translate into actual ratings, which i gave you. Bball is no longer on 2 or 10 because it doesnt rate - it used too but not any more!

Fill, the nbl want Adelaide in it & will do what it takes to get them, don't give up so easy.

Also Fill i had worked out you are a sixers supporter & i in no way criticise you for being passionate about your club - if there were more like you we wouldnt be in this situation, but Hemmering needs to tow the line everyone else has too. Times are tough for everyone, i don't wanna see his bottom lip. Come to me with a solution not a problem.....

As for you ESP you are quick to call names & offer no substance to any argument! How old do you want me to be? I would love to have the game on free to air but no one watches it. Even Eddy gave it a Sunday morning slot - cos he loves sport - & chewed lemons over it. It's all about money big nuts. Wake up & smell the roses!!

My statistics are founded, which you would know if you made some calls instead of pulling your quick trigger & yelling obscenities. I think the real moron has spoken! Atleast i know what ESP stands for now - Extra Soft Perspective!!

anyway,what we have so far is.....

*nbl needs to be on FOX and FTA

*Hemmerling IS a wanker

*the golden years of nbl weren't that golden,the americanised 'run and stun' thing was flimsy and never going to last.(it was a moment in our history)cal bruton and his 'score 40 from the point'thing did a lot of damage to us locally and internationally.

*basketball in oz WILL survive wether we take a year off or not,dont underestimate the greatness of the game,or the passion of its people.

*we shouldnt run the nbl model like the nba model,its very un-australian.stop looking at other sports like netball,not to offend anyone,but it is a sport invented by women,for women.

*we have come a long way with the game in oz,i remember growing up in the 60's and 70's with my basketball,all my mates played footy(afl)and reckoned i was a sissy!!

FTA would be great, but they wouldn't pay for the privilege and the risk is that they might take it on and then dump it if/when the ratings are poor.

There are downsides to FTA as well as Fox.

Oh, and keep it reasonable please.

* Bball is no longer on 2 or 10 because it doesnt rate

I can't agree with this statement. It's not on FTA because FOX bought out the rights and out bid the FTA carriers. It didn't do that out of charity - it took it because it WAS successful and so they cherry picked it.

The problem, of course, of signing exclusivity over to Pay TV is that you immediately resize to a much smaller audience. Worse, those who DO sign up are more likely to be die-hard supporters who would turn up no matter what so in doing so, you loose all those on the fringe who are looking for entertainment.

Surely the time is now right for BA to approach OneHD and make this part of their 24x7 sports telecast. OneHD need content and BA need as broad a coverage as they can secure - never a happier marriage you'd imagine. And as it's a dedicated sports channel, there is no reason why OneHD couldn't telecast EVERY game LIVE.

Perhaps the access to a wider audience will also help attract national sponsors? Time to stop chasing a narrow focus and return to a wider audience. Lesson learned - time to move on.