One HD's coverage didn't look too bad to me. They had three name commentators, the Perth guy (Lachy or whoever it is) roaming, etc.

The NBA introduced TV timeouts, a shorter timeout, various video review options, etc. They've also adjusted rules to maximise the spectacle of the sport. I think the NBL would be silly to ignore all that.

Isaac, the game of AFL is on such an expansive oval and the players are so wide spread that you tend to miss out on what is going on all over the ground when you watch it on TV.

Without so many cameras to catch all the action and controversy it doesn't come close to watching it live.

NRL is played in a line, much more suitable for a TV camera to follow the play, like the NFL I guess...

Hoops is also played, very much in half a court, other than quick transition you can get most of the action on one camera, two or three can get you awesome coverage IMO.

Maybe it is just how it is presented, the NCAA and NBA just do an amazing job, surely we can do what the AFL is doing and just copy the yanks...?

Plenty of opportunies to go to an add during time outs I would think...

Bear, you'd think plus opportunities to replay highlights. So why do I see so much of a timeout regardless?

We took out jumpballs to speed up the game, yet the AFL have dozens a game and people aren't turned off. Did basketball get that wrong?

Highlights are important, I agree, But I tend to point it towards the producers and people who actually control the coverage, not basketball or the NBL in particular.

IMO it is not something that is broken or not able to be improved, it just needs a network and people with passion for the game to sit down and take it seriously...

How about producing some stories on players in the NBA, I am sure we all loved watching GAZE and the Tigers shed a tear over defeating the Wildcats all those years ago, but I am sure there is a number of great stories we could make a docco or two from that would be worth a look.

Just take the game more seriously at the corporate level I think, that would be a decent start would it not...?

I think it's mainly about quality. If you watched the fox footy channel on foxtel you'd know what I mean. The channel is outstanding for coverage, no ad breaks and has nearly every game with great commentary. The talk shows(On the Couch) are quite good as well . I think it's a combined effort plus the atmosphere really shows out on TV which the NBL is a 1 out of 10 compared to the AFL,NCAA,NBA.

Sorry I meant stories on the NBL...

The NCAA and NBA do a great job finding breaks in the action to show replays and advertisements.

They have replays ready to go almost incredibly quickly after a dead-ball situation - Ten's are usually one replay behind and sometimes don't bother to wait for a dead-ball which pisses me off.

The highlights put together from the current game for a team or individual player(s) are fantastic in the US - the NBL highlights to end a quarter are usually (but not always) missed layups, fouls, players/coaches complaining and cheerleaders being ogled by the cameraman.

The NBA in particular manage to fit advertisements into the breaks between a foul and free throws, stoppages in play and even highlight packages e.g. The Sprite Play of the Game - the closest I've seen to this is actually at the 36er games when they announce "player X is sponsored by ____".

We've seen an emergence of betting advertisements within the AFL's coverage (not just in the ad breaks) which is very smart business for both sides.

The AFL's coverage is world class and entertaining in itself for my liking, even disregarding the actual game: when the Cometti and co. are covering a blockbuster the quality is comparable to the NFL's.

The quality of NBL coverage couldn't be comparable to the best in the world at this stage, but could easily be much better by innovating. Ten/ONE's coverage is appalling for the most part IMO.

Bear - the AFL (and NRL) shows along those lines capitalise on the underlying interest in the AFL itself. I've watched a couple of those shows and, as a non AFL fan, found them poorly produced, dull and repetitive. Nonetheless, the AFL fans enjoy them because the subject matter interests them and so the shows flourish.

My point is, shows like that usually rely on the watcher's interest in the underlying subject matter. So how do you make it work for NBL when there is such low community interest in the NBL, across the nation as a whole? You nee to build the following of the NBL product before you want to invest in those sorts of shows.

So I think a different strategy is needed to create the interest in the NBL that will attract the dollars to pro. Which comes back to Isaac's original question.

Yeah PJ, I take your point and of course it was just one example, not a great one I'll admit.

I wouldn't think this was just an easy thing to do, if it was I guess we wouldn't be considering it.

But PM makes some good points and my only issue here is that I don't really see that the network is puting their heart and soul into Basketball like the other networks are doing for other sports.

I also agree in part with the point about the sport and how important it is to produce something that will be watched, something about something interesting.

A bit of a chicken or the egg arguement really isn't it?

I have to agree with comments about 10's coverage quality being poor. However, part of teh problem is the product. I really noticed how often this season the commentary was effectively talking down the product. I noticed commentators regularly criticising the amount of contact, the quality of refereeing (your contentious foul call replays point, Isaac) and the bad decisions players and coaches made. They also often went AWOL during games, to talk about stuff not related to the game.

The problem though, was that their critical comments often were on the money and they usually went AWOL because the games had large patches that were, frankly, boring and had little to talk up. Some of that can be remedied by better production quality (timing of replays, choice of replays, additional cameras). Some can be addressed through better research by (or for) the commentators, allowing better analysis and more interesting colour commentary in game. However, there are fundamental issues with the quality of the NBL product itself that need to be addressed as well.

Yes, I'm thinking about exposure to occasional or new fans. One sport has long blocks of almost constant action. The other seems so stop-start.

Friday night, I was out for dinner at someone's place. All the other guys there were keen AFL fans/tippers but also had a basic knowledge of or interest in basketball. e.g., knew the NBL was not especially strong, could name the odd team, etc.

Dockers-Bombers was on in the background. When that finished, I switched across to the delayed Cats-Breakers game. Bricks and fouls until that passage of made threes.

At one point, Cedric Jackson had the ball and I mentioned that he was the reigning MVP of the league. Cue him bricking two free throws then later penetrating into the key, awkwardly dodging brutal defense and fumbling up a floater that missed, and the refs not calling anything. Ouch.

One saving grace was the crowd and atmosphere which was exceptional. I mentioned to one guy that they were expecting 13-14,000 at the Perth game. He said, "That's more than some Power games last year."

I hope the NBL had extra cameras at these last two games collecting highlights to use in promos for next year.

Backing up on that one Isaac, I was at a mates place yesterday watching the Victory v Mariners A-League semi final.

They tried so hard to make it watchable, panning to the stadium, over the palm trees and showing the ocean gleaming in the lighting, amazing venue and it really looked pretty cool at the start.

The game, however was a bit ho, hum and not that intense, not like the last quarter of the NBL final the other night...

I used to love the Union, watching Australia play when they were a gun side, not so much these days and the cricket, forget it mate, they have dropped the ball big time!

If we can get our product right, build on the good things and improve on the issues that are fixable, I think basketball should be a boom sport to watch on TV!

The weekend emphasized something we already knew - AFL freeflowing and NBL stop and start .
I'm very lucky to have a remote control this good to flick it around when there's timeouts and freethrows or I just get bored .

Is Ten/one pulling our collective legs ?
SBS do their sport pretty good .

I think the NBL should look at getting a deal for 1 nationally televised live game Friday nights or something and then leave all other games open for localised live showing. So the NBL tv crew might produce the product but 10 adelaide might show all adelaide games live.

One thing we miss with not having NBL on Foxtel is the replaying of games throughout the week.

That was a hugh mistake for NBL to leave Foxtel - just think most fans watch the NBA & College basketball on Foxtel - it made sense to have the NBL on Foxtel.

A dedicated Foxtel Channel to basketball would have been more valuable than just having the Sport on Free to Air TV in my opinion especially with the late games and lack of promotion we hardly even know when the games are on.

Any time someone mentions a panel/magazine show, I think of the cost. Instead, I'd favour things like running through funny/interesting tweets (to encourage participation), highlights with voiceover and stats, supercuts of blocks, steals, etc. That sort of thing.

Voiceovers can be prepared by someone out of town even and sent back online. No need to set up a studio and dress up presenters.

The NBL.TV crew are providing highlight supercuts and the NBL just aren't using them.

I'm sure it sometimes involves expensive cameras, but the NBA regularly put up "Phantom" slow-mo footage of plays set to music and it's really effective. This one of Blake Griffin isn't even super slow-mo and there's a fair percentage in there of highlights the NBL would have equivalents of:



Rebounds, steals, logos, shoes, teammates, etc. We don't need to have non-stop monstrous alley-oops to showcase our highlights and build up our stars. Jackson to Abercrombie is a classic NBL move. So show it over and over.

Nbl needs a weekly show like every other code
Who cares about the money ! Its a drawing card in itself
Highlights, in depth interviews, local talent , legends , stuff you may have missed. Fantasy basketball league!

I think if they got a sponsor for highlights they would get shown during the coverage more often....for example, this highlight brought you by ??? company. It would also bring in additional revenue.

However, due to the way the game is played here (very defensive minded and physical) there isnt alot of highlights to show, unlike the NBA where you are pretty much guaranteed a dunk a quarter.....we're lucky to get 1 a game!

The NBL got the jump ball wrong in my opinion. The jump ball added a sense of anticipation and sometimes excitement as when a much smaller player out jumped/hustled a much bigger opponent. Now we just take it in turns.....how boring.

I think both the NBL and the coverage are to blame for the product not getting the attention it once did. The NCAA and NBA dont have any issues with replays, marketing, sales etc. The NBL and TEN need to take notice and adopt alot of their practices if they want to be successful.

The NBL is moreso to blame I think. Tidy up the game and get it more free flowing and exciting and the coverage will automatically improve.

And lets face it, the more successful & appealing the league is the more revenue it will generate which will then bring a greater salary cap which brings better players, better quality and again, more fans!

Tornado, one of the last Breakers home games would've had 7-8 dunks by the home side alone. But yes, we should encourage more.

There is always an exception to the rule Isaac but I, as I am sure you have, been to lots of Sixers games where I havent seen more than 1-2 dunks, some games none at all. Sometimes a lot of those dunks arent even enjoyable, they're just under the ring type stuff.

We rarely see acrobatic plays and finishes around the basket anymore either but I'm not sure if thats due to rules or the standard of player just isnt there anymore?

Either way, the NBL needs to look at creating a more offensive game as thats what the fans want to see....not two teams grinding it out defensively.

Introduce defensive 3 second calls to clear out the key?

Isaac, I like the video and agree that it wouldn't be that difficult to promote this style of highlight play for the NBL, however I also agree with the idea of a Basketball program on the TV.

Like the AFL, NRL and A-League have, but the difference is we shouldn't just focus on the NBL, it should include some NBA action, then it will potentially attract the broader and younger audience we are craving IMO...

It would also be a great way to promote a highlights video like the Blake Griffin one, only do it for NBL players and the kids will start so see that we have our own stars here in Aus and NZ!

Problems are:

1. Time and day need to be something like Sunday morning 11.00am.

2. Ch.10 needs to actually take it seriously, (or go to Foxtel).

3. The show has to be entertaining from the start and make some impact.

Done properly, it can work, done poorly it will hurt!

Bear, they can't get Ch 10 to show games as promised, or get their own marketing right. I'm not confident that the league could organise a panel show well. I'd rather them focus on more achievable things first.

Tornado, no, that's true. I think the 2-3 biggest things preventing dunks in the NBL are:

- many players don't have that killer/entertainer mentality
- players know the coach would rather they bank two safe points than risk missing going for something amazing
- our D doesn't leave as much room in the key

On breaks, our guards are more likely to be non-dunkers like Gibson, Cadee, Crosswell, Lisch, R Martin than the NBA where even a short arse like Nate Robinson will go for it.

I read a Grantland article the other day about Ricky Davis and Lance Stephenson. I mentioned the first times they dunked and what it meant for them and their game; even their status. They showed a clip where Davis (in the NBA) was on a break and went for a spectacular dunk, but bricked it. So he picked it up and quickly threw down a windmill. That's the mentality trained into these guys by their heroes and peers in the American HS/college scenes.