I was just about to write a post on this. This deal is a great move for the FFA. This is a further indicator that they are improving as an organisation. Football in Australia is on the way up, and the hard work that the FFA have done over the last few years is paying off well. TV ratings are at an all time high and attendances are likely to break the record set back in 07/08. Not to mention the A-League being able to lure higher quality players such as Alessandro Del Piero, Emile Heskey and Shinji Ono, not to mention a possible guest stint by David Beckham.

The quote from Frank Lowy that the administrators of the NBL need to take note of is this:

Q. Expansion has obviously been a difficult process. You've now got a new four-year television deal, the security of that deal. Tell us about the timetable for expansion.
A. The timetable is a bit flexible. However I don't believe we will be increasing the clubs between now and when the next deal comes about. Additional clubs require additional money, we just don't have that kind of money. Unless some big present appears from somewhere we wouldn't be increasing the teams between now and 2017.

Q. You once said your dream was a 14-team league. Have you given up on that dream?
A. Absolutey not, but I didn't say when the 14 teams would be. We were a little bit ambitious a few years ago, and we moved faster than we should have. We paid the price. Really our objective is to make these 10 teams strong before we move forward.

The A-League expanded too quickly and they paid for it with some piss poor attendances. The NBL have had plenty of teams come and go over the last decade and only one has stuck: the Breakers. The NBL needs to focus on putting its revenue into the teams they have right now to make them financially sustainable before even contemplating expansion. Why the NBL think they need to constantly look at expansion despite the majority of the clubs having a financial struggle is baffling.

The A-League is getting strong and they are producing a good product.

They are getting home grown players to stay or come back. They are attracting good overseas players who seem to care, who want to be here and they play hard - and if they don't they are gone and they get someone else. This has produced better soccer on the pitch and it is showing in the TV numbers (up 35%) and crowd numbers (up 32%) on 2011. Crowds are now up to about 12,000 a game.

I read that the biggest metric that is up is sportsbetting. It is the fastest growing betting league in Australia.

I am a member of Adel United and I have been for a few years. I stopped going to the Sixers and used that money for United (even though basketball is my favourite sport) because of the game day product United put out. It is geared towards the fans, not families. There is no over hyped, loud playing, rev up rubbish - we sit, we watch the game, we are allowed to support our team with fervour and passion. Last year, United sucked but it was probably the most fun I ever had supporting a team because that is what I was allowed to do – support. The Sixers don’t allow that opportunity, too family focused, too focused to the fair-weather fans who are there for "a night out".

Anon, yes I agree with that. Eventually the NBL is going to need to have teams in all capital cities. But at the moment, the NBL needs to spend its resources stabilising the teams they currently have.

I personally would go as far to explore the possibility of scrapping the NBL all together and starting up with a fresh market. I just don't see how the NBL as they currently are is going to be able to have growth to even rival other sporting codes who the NBL should be on par with.

If you look at crowd numbers, the A-League is averaging over 14.5 thousand people per game. That's not far behind the NRL's average crowd number of just under 16.5k per game. The A-League is certainly getting closer to the major sporting codes of NRL, AFL and Rugby than being a lower small sporting market such as netball and NBL.

#388380

Good point about their markets. One I have tried to make a few times here - the NBL has too many small market teams to give itself of being a valuable FTA or even commercial property really. Cairns, Townsville and Wollongong all hurt.

In this case, with Foxtel having a presence in NZ, Wellington adds to the equation, rather than subtracting from it as it would for Channel 10. Of course, Foxtel would prefer Auckland but SBS would not give a shit about either.