It will be different.

It will be run separate to BA. It will thrive in this environment. They will appoint their own CEO, agree on centralized marketing, they will capitalize the league with money from the rich clubs and bring in new teams with money from the rich clubs.

It will be just like it was before it merged with BA.

What'cha sayin' HO, they bringin' back thu tight fitting high thigh shorts as well?

I truly hope it is going to change, simply can't go another season like we have been...

Neither of those rule changes will bring people in the door or make people watch on TV in sufficient numbers to make the product valuable.

Rules being the rules, I think (and always have thought this) that it is in the interpretation of certain rules that could make a difference, especially in the game style.

The NBA has a game style, they also officiate it in a way that allows that style to flourish, therby fostering growth in the entertainment factor of the NBA.

While I'm not comparing us to the NBA, my point is to consider how we officiate key elements that can make it more entertaining to watch the NBL.

Things like relaxing a bit on the spin move, stop calling every spin a travel, also the two step lay-up on the fly, please give the offence a chance to score with that extra half step and stop pulling them up?!

It's things like these and perhaps calling the holding in the key early to set a tone, while protecting the player going for the dunk to encourage a 'dunk' mentality that will make a difference on the court IMO...

Complaining about Perth and NZ's "WWF wrestling matches" isn't really a great example when the data shows Perth and NZ get the largest crowds.

Maybe the masses dont want to see fast games like the die hards do, maybe they want to see winners.

Last season's Crocs and 36ers crowd numbers will add more weight to this argument.

I would suggest the on-court product is not really a problem - except on this forum.

Avidity is the problem, have said that before here. People do not care because there is no sense of tribalism in the sport.

I have a good mate, and he is a mad Packers fan. He has never been to a game, he buys their merchandise, watches them on fox and he follows them online. He, by his own admission, openly admits that he does not fully understand the rules or strategies. But, he has bought into the Packers story, their small town versus large town mentality and he is avid about this team.

Why? Because somehow, the Packers have become relevant to him and he now believes in them. Same way people all over the world identify with Barca or Man United. How does the league make the Sydney relevant? That is the key to saving the league. Good luck trying to unlock it.

IMO EVERYTHING else is tweaking for madding (online) crowd....

I don't believe the NBL has once referred to themselves as the "new" NBL. Its something they were tagged with early on in the de-merger process and from that people jumped to conclusions that everything would be shiny and new.

Them making the break from BA is one thing (but a crucial thing) and from now they can take the steps to improve the league. It would have been foolish to think it would all be resolved by the start of this season.

Agree with HO's last sentence. There are a few people with loud online voices who relentlessly complain about the league yet do not attend as many games as they would have you believe.

The Situation,

Even if they never named themselves as the "new" NBL, such a dramatic change (de-merger), demanded by the owners, should never have been requested, unless they could make some significant differences early.

The lack of investment is my worry. No new office (from what we can see), no independent and accountable Head Office team charged with delivering change etc etc,.

When it really comes to it, will the "rich" owners really put their money where their mouth is? now is the planning and implementation stage for the 2013-14 season and it appears to be in the hands of part-timers.

Just what we need more negative shit from Boti!!

Agree, quite a few changes will take time and rivalry is one of them. Rivalry is something I was very keen to see in previous threads on this topic, but rivarly in its true sense is something built over time.

Yes, it needs to start somewhere and the league needs to look at how this can be initiated (by adding the right new clubs and getting the scheduling right), but the article was more about the product, I thought...

It will be interesting to see what changes are implemented short term and how they will impact on the league overall, notwithstanding the necessity for promotion of medium and longer term strategies that keep punters keen on the future of the NBL...

"There are things they might like to change, but can't right now. There are things they can change right away, and will take steps to do so."

And I don't think we can expect anything more than that right now. Well said.

HO, I like your point about the Green Bay Packers (also one of my favourite NFL teams). I relate to them because they are a smaller town team compared with some of the larger franchises, similar if you will to the Geelong FC in the AFL.

The marketing and self promotion of a club to develop their fan base through a culture and sense of belonging is huge, so how is this best achieved in the NBL?

You see, coming from Victoria, as an example, I had a high level of interest in the South Dragons. Not just because I hated the Melbourne Tigers (still not keen on them by the way); But also because they were different and offered a rival for me to follow.

What are my options now?? Sorry but interstate teams don't cut it because I can't watch them live as often or relate to them in the same localised sense of belonging (tribalism if you will).

For the NBL to gain ground it needs to somehow find that passionate supporter, then breed a sense of rivalry & tribalism among those passionate supporters for coming generations...

This takes time, but the A-League should stand as an example, they bit the bullet and have created that tribal rivalry here in Victoria by adding the Heart to the market. Yes, they are second to Victory at the moment, but over time they should survive and prosper along with the A-League itself.

The NBL can't do this if it isn't stable, so of course many factors have to be taken into account, but at some point in time (very soon hopefully) the NBL has to bite the bullet and expand to a point where it offers the new and potential fans what they are craving...

At least give us some hope that it is around the corner!

The refereeing changes are an important starting place. With more time and as the constraints of the existing media deals are dropped, more opportunities to improve will arise.

The next Victorian team should come from Geelong, given the current Knox situation.

Not financially viable at the moment hoopie, I will explain why IMO...

Geelong - Doesn't control its own venue and has no income from the likes of poker machines, has no canteen and has rival Associations to develop a working relationship with (Still in progress).

Bendigo or Ballarat (compared with) at least have no rival Associaitons and have those inclome steams I mentioned above available to them.

So although Geelong is a bigger regional city, it is not yet prepared for such a move and is at least 5 years away from it IMO!

Sorry, those are the facts...

Agree with Boti entirely about Carfino's incessant 'time out on the floor' calls - they aren't 'on the floor' when they're called from the bench. How can you have played and commentated at the level Carfino's has for so many years and not instinctively know that?

#434913

Your cynicism makes my point nicely. Arguing over 48 versus the (much better) 40 minute game, or jump ball vs (much fairer) possession arrow, or white vs coloured home strips are not even appetizers to the main course of making the NBL a thriving league. (ok, sorry for being a troll.... )

The league, and its teams, do not matter to the Australian public in the way other sports do.

There is another way forward, a way to make the sport matter and a way to bring back the fans. It is called MARKETING!

More specifically I will call it marketing the super star, because this is where it has to happen.

Look at any sport you like, kids don't just want the LA Lakres top or the Miami Heat top, or the Hawthorn top do they?

They want the Kobi# singlet, the LeBron# singlet or the Buddy Franklin# jersey.

Before Andrew Bogut played for the Bucks I had no idea they were green/red, but I wanted one of those singlets with his name and number on it because he is a star (and an Aussie).

The South Dragons were cool, they had nice tops and all, but it was the Joey Ingles No.7 singlet that people wanted then, so here is my answer to what must be done to make that difference to the new NBL...

Somehow, we need to make the NBL attractive again, like it was before it became bland, team oriented, defensively minded and all about survival with bad news dominating the headlines and most of the emphasis on the teams and where they are on the ladder etc...

Corey 'Homicide' Williams comes to mind, he was exciting and kids wanted to see him play, while I am not saying bring him back, it is the promotion of exciting super stars that clubs and the league have to get on board with to make the NBL different to the previous model IMO!

If that means introducing the marquee player concept, then fine, but make that player worthy of the super star tag and get that excitement back, or we are probably just re-badging the same old car with the same old engine and performance (boring)...

Um, those things are marketing.

Ask 10 people on the street to name one NBL player in 2013 and I would be very surprised if they could name one.

Yeah, in most centres the people coming to the games are returning in good numbers, it's getting more people to the games and especially watching on TV that is most important. A part of that is definitely cleaning up the physicality, but most of it is marketing and broadcast.

That is a huge priority for the new management which is great.

But Paul, other than a part time CEo there does not appear to be a new management or is there?

It seems the pieces are slowly coming together, a media officer appointed last week, Tony Cochrane working on broadcast issues, four club CEOs doing some work on league issues.

I dont think there will be major changes this season, but a couple of important changes to those two areas can be made by contracting out with very specific guidelines.

Five weeks from season tip-off? Who is operationally running the league? or are they sub-contracting that back to BA (which might be sensible).

This looks like a PR disaster in the making. take the "bold" step to divorce BA, and then spend 6 -12 months actually implementing anything of substance.

Its fine to leave the rules as they are for this season, its fine to live with the current TV deal. But there are no excuses for not forging ahead with a new marketing plan (below the line if necessary) given the time they have had.

I am not going to be prescriptive about what they marketing plan should be, but there is not one single reason why they could not have by now launched a new tagline, announced new community initiatives for all clubs etc.

HO you come off as a disgruntled ex BA employee at times

I actually agree with you HO, I think ideally they would have been better to execute the divorce over the period of a year and have a transitional season.

However, from what I understand the reason they did it quickly was not to make big changes in a hurry, but to run this season as per last year but at a lower cost for clubs before making any significant changes next season.

I understand that logic, some clubs are doing it tough. Given BA barely marketed the league at all last season I doubt this one will be a PR disaster. I think it will be business as usual but with some little tweaks to improve presentation of the product and reduce the burden on clubs.

Wookiee, when it comes to name recognition, a lot of what you've listed doesn't matter at all if the sport isn't on TV reports and in the paper. I think that's where the name recognition starts (that and continuity).

I guess I'm thinking more of helping to fix attitudes and opening people up to watching or attending games, as I know a lot of people listen to the radio either on the way to and from or during work, so if you're getting negative attitudes like "basketball is gay, footy is a mans sport!" instead of it being mentioned and being absorbed positively, it won't matter if it's on tv or not... I know that I listen to the radio than watch news reports or even FTA tv or the physical paper... Although I've been a huge advocate for using that free Mx paper that they give out at train stations of an afternoon as much as possible as that should be a huge target market for a team based in the city proper...

Fair enough.

And yes, improving the game for the dedicated fans is important. No use all of us interested enough to be on forums and club social media but having a negative attitude to the spectacle, administration, and so on. Of course, it would help if the league and clubs did do more than they do now.

Honestly I think one of the biggest steps to mix with marketing is making the game actually accessible, starting with reasonable ticket prices. When it's substantially cheaper to go to a game of footy, which already has massive team loyalty, rivalry and understanding of the league, it seems trivial that tickets to NBL games cost so much more to attend, when it's essentially a developing league. I get that there are real reasons for this, but until it's dropped even for a promotional period, preferably mixed with some real marketing, it's pretty difficult to convince people to get to a game.

In today's world of smart TV's and internet speed I would like the NBL to do some more in improving the online product too.

NBL.tv needs a little kick along, maybe looking at NBA league pass and trying to copy some of their marketing strategies would help?

Even better, send an NBL league official (the right one) over the the United States with a brief of 'Hey Uncle Sam, we are the NBL and we want to be your little brother. Can you join with us and show us the way, mate?'

Then come back here with the new succession plan and go for it, no holding back!

I dont think there will be anything 'huge' done this season, they are still finalising the de-merger which is taking much longer than expected.

As I said a few posts above, I think it will be business as usual this year but with some tweaking to fix some small but important things BA had wrong, with online marketing and the presentation of at least some of the broadcasts amongst those.

I touched on it briefly at the start of this column, and when I say he 'got it' I really meant it, sounded very promising to me:

http://fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/colu/p/newsid/68530/arti.html

Interesting article Paulo, I in particular agree with the notion that the NBL has not done enough to assist junior development or to instil a strong and clear pathway for our elite juniors such as other sports here have.

However BA probably has to put its hand up for that one also!

Your point about young players having to step up from our National State league levels to the NBL being a huge gap is very valid and something which needs addressing immediately, but how?

Now we are talking about a potential restructure in the SEABL level or its equivalent, that will need some cooperation and strong leadership across the whole country (Sounds like BA needs to step up).

While we go softly into transition, taking another year or two to make any decent changes, are we just broadening that gap even more?

Is the cooperation there to support and assist Steve in these ideas so they can in fact be implemented, or is he going to be a lone wolf and become frustrated like others before him?

I too see some light at the end of this tunnel, I just hope we don't make the mistake of taking too long to make the 'big picture' changes needed mate...

JC, I think the pricing is rough in Adelaide too. Have said before that I'd like to see x tickets at every stadium offered for a certain price across the league, so the NBL can advertise "Tickets from $15" or similar.

Regarding the ticket pricing issue, I agree with you JC. However I think the reason why NBL games are more expensive than the football codes would largely have to do with Sponsorship and cost of venue hire vs capacity.

With much less tickets to sell, the NBL needs to charge more to cover the costs than the AFL would. And with venues being very expensive to hire for an NBL club to afford, the club would need to charge higher prices.

Sponsorship is also key to lowering ticket prices. If clubs had more and higher paying sponsors, they could absorb some of the costs that are currently directed at fans and members. NBL clubs have a tiny % of sponsors compared to football clubs, so the costs need to be recovered somehow, and right now thats with fans paying more than they should for tickets.

JC perception is an interesting thing. Crows adult ticket is comparable ( i cant find them on line but recall the 36ers were actually cheaper)

I found a suggestion on one site that a walk up ticket is from $25 for Crows ( you have to be a member to get that price too) vs 36ers being from memory about $20 for silver.

Obviously new teams is the key one, then you can do both. If they are generating extra revenue to allow revenue sharing then the 12 player idea is definitely a good one as all clubs could afford it.

Personally I think they need to create incentives for clubs to recruit more of our best young players, and perhaps league support to help their development on and off court.

If our absolute best are likely to play a chunk of their careers overseas, and in the current climate they are, then it is important we get them into the league first so we create that connection.

Look how well NZ have done developing their young players and creating a club they dont want to leave for overseas. I dont have a magical solution but I think this area has to be a priority to invest in the future of the league.

Muzz Buzz, I think Silver at the 36ers (cheapest adult walk-up) is $25 or more ($26 or $27 rings a bell; Groupon deal says RRP $27.50). Even a silver season ticket works out at $21+/game so walk-ups will always be higher than that.

I've never understood why teams with thousands of spare seats every night charge so much for tickets (and memberships). I would prefer to be averaging 6000 and making slightly less than I did if I was averaging 4000, simply because the flow on effects help you build the business.

Especially for silver seats in Adelaide, which are behind the basket or above the concourse. Pack those areas out.

Those times when you want to encourage friends or colleagues to go to a game tend to seize up when they hear the cheapest prices are so high. If I didn't buy a season ticket, it would dissuade me.

Which teams have the cheapest memberships and ticket sales? I always thought it was the Kings (during their TV games a sideline banner pops up saying memberships from $60 or something like that - now thats cheap!)

Yet despite that, the Kings probably have the most empty seats at their games than other teams (from a perception point of view given they play at a 10,500 seat venue - though their actual crowd numbers are generally good). They cant possibly go any cheaper, right even though 7,000 there looks better than 4,500.

Teams that have a genuine demand for tickets can probably argue that their pricing is right. I think the clubs getting near sellouts regularly were the Wildcats, Taipans and Breakers, with Tiger games at the Cage.

Of course, if you look at Sydney their last couple of years before they dropped out of the comp they were averaging around 3500.

The thing that has probably kept them around that 5000 average the past three years and not able to grow is the team has regularly put up insipid performances at home, not just lost, but looked like a bunch of ammos, which makes it harder to get people back. It must break the marketing people's (person's?) heart!

Agree Wildcat Fan, the teams with demand can charge more. Perth do that, while Cairns and NZ have kept their prices pretty low.

Ahh OK - Thanks for that. I thought it was a bit cheap for a proper membership haha!

Membership for everything in Perth is absurd - at least the Wildcats have a venue worthy of the expense! Subiaco is an above-ground hole, nib stadium is only just emerging from the stone-age with the latest improvements and the WACA is designed first and foremost as a grueling test of character.

There were supposed to be cheaper memberships when they moved to the Arena, but instead they increased twice. People are still buying in though - not sure what that says.

Steve Dunn has announced it tonight, the NBL will be doing their own production for both Channel 10 and NBL.TV this year, using the company that produced the V8s.

This is what I meant when I said the quality of production was a big priority for the new HQ. It means the broadcast will be produced as a quality advertisement for the NBL, not an afterthought.

Very exciting!!