It all depends, if the ESPN offer is for zero than the Stan deal would be better but if they're close to the same amount avoiding locking the league away on a mickey mouse streamer no one is ever heard of is the best option. Obviously FTA much better reach than Pay TV again.

I said the last time this came up the supposed $20 million Stan Sport deal that if you're LK you've got to take that kind of money. Even though it's not a good deal for the NBL itself it would be understandable for him to do he's pumped in well over $50 million of his own money you've got to try and get something back.

Behind a paywall.

Can someone please post the entire article

ME and I did say Stan were sniffing around. Time to believe.

avoiding locking the league away on a mickey mouse streamer no one is ever heard of is the best option.

" Nine Entertainment and its Stan streaming service said to be competing with Foxtel and ESPN in a deal that could be worth $10m annually"

Mhmmmmm $10mil would be fantastic- however that's substantially different from the $20mil earlier rumoured.

You want things to be on a positive trend not downwards - potentially some rethinking by broadcasters?

I think NBL wants what ALeague got in terms of a broadcaster not just paying and saying “now deliver”. They want to do what they did with the big bash and help build it and give them every opportunity to succeed.

One thing to broadcast, another thing to do everything they can to leverage the capacity they have to help build a sport.

Starts with decent money so the sport can sustainably operate, then plenty of coverage to ensure it’s not hidden away. Then it’s advertising, extra news pieces, leveraging their network stars, investing in the sport.

" We are a small business that has had to navigate its way through a complete unknown in the middle of an absolute shitstorm with a team that works seven days per week."

lolll

The rugby union and football deals signed recently by Stan and Ten respectively are pumped up and benefit by the Wallabies and Socceroos rights being included with Super Rugby and A-League tacked on. Unfortunately and for whatever reason the Boomers aren't regarded in the same light as a national team.

and even though LK has been involved with brokering Boomers games in the past I don't believe NBL rights include any Boomers element to it as they are held by BA.

Sadly our passion is inflated in comparison with the vast majority of Australia.

Rugby Union and ALeague are still substantially more popular, even if they're struggling hard

Stick with Foxtel at $15 million? You do realise the current ESPN/SBS deal is for nothing right?

Foxtel more or less ditched NBL and let ESPN pick up the pieces.

I don't really get what would change for them to not want to take on any associated cost to suddenly paying for it?

They’ve been shedding smaller sports not gaining - except for netball where they scored gov funding for it

I'd lose interest in the NBL if it went to Stan... no interest in subscribing to that.

Hope they stick to ESPN & Foxtel

Mhmmmmm $10mil would be fantastic- however that's substantially different from the $20mil earlier rumoured.

The Australian reporting Nine is prepared to offer $20 million annually - From January

Don't know what that would have meant money vs contra; or if it even got to a point of discussing that

AFR reporting SBS ESPN to be expected to re-sign

It's pretty rare that the NBL finds itself in the position of chooser. If there are two channels actually bidding for the NBL as opposed to courting the begging of the NBL then I say we're in a historic moment.

If there is a genuine bidding war going on, then we must surmise that ESPN is offering something somewhere in the ballpark of what Stan is offering, or that the NBL sees exposure on ESPN as potentially being more important than the money.

Either way, it's a positive place for the league to be in to have literally any kind of choice on the matter.

I also don't think the league dies in obscurity if it ends up on Stan. I'd expect the deal to include some FTA coverage as well. Ever since the NBL got that 5 year FOx Sports deal a few years back there has always been some level of FTA presence and I expect that to continue moving forward.

Decent signs for the league. it's not quite the A League deal but at least it isn't just giving away content for free.

"LK said " the starting value for teams is at least $10m now, and more for a club like Sydney or Melbourne United." 100% markup eh Larry. United used to worth $10mill and the Bullets $5m9ill. Now the under performing teams are now worth $10mill. Bullshit"

Yeah, it's possible for "underperforming" teams to be worth more. And I am sure Larry knows more about that than some random anonymous on the internet who is pissed off for reasons that dont make sense.

I think people should take a moment to THANK Larry. If not for him, we're not talking about 10 million dollar TV deals that's for damn sure.

The problem with Stan is to access Stan Sport you have to pay $20/month for the base Stan in order to then unlock the sports package for another $10/month.

So even if you are a sports fan Stan creates a barrier in the form of forcing you to buy their general entertainment package that you may not be interested in. It's a big ask price wise for fans already subscribed to various other streamers.

Ok so $10+$10/month.

I tried to post the link to the AFR article from three weeks ago but it won't let me for some reason, anyway the relevant bit:

FMD what the hell is wrong with this board.

Yeah I couldn't either so I gave up.

Must have a special character in the link

It's not even the link, it wouldn't even let me post the line that said it's considered an expectation the NBL is going to re-sign with ESPN/SBS.

Anyway that scenario along with some money coming in is probably going to be the best of both worlds for the NBL.

Whatever ESPN must provide must be seen as worth more than 10 million a season if that's the case.

AFR has some type of projection against copy and pasting.

ESPN is gated behind the foxtel paywall? I would of thought 20 bucks for Stan is better value and bonus there is other decent movie and tv content.

The AFR article everyone was trying to copy and paste states:

"and the NBL as expected re-signs with SBS and ESPN" dated May 31.

Perthworld. The new KR expert on everything. Foxtel used to charge and extra $20pm for the Sports Channel to get the NBL and no one complained. Oh plus the minimum join up fee. Nothing to see with the STAN price.

Shortcut link to AFR article:

https://bit.ly/2U9oJrk

or Google the title and then click the link via the search engine for no paywall:

Too many players, not enough sport: 'seminal' moment for streaming war

NBL have done a stellar job in making all games available and free via SBS On Demand and twitch along with all games on TV. It was once a dream to have all games on - used to look at the Foxtel magazine for all the 36ers games, count them and highlight them. It was like living in analogue times with physical books for street maps and yellow pages/white pages.

Weird to even contemplate not being able to watch all games wherever whenever.

We do have to be honest with the state of play though.

The NBL attracts really low TV ratings. ALeague at its worst and heavily chastised might be similar to decent NBL ratings.

We have seen amazing growth crowds wise - I think this might be attributed to going at that family market, taking away from the dwindling big bash, aleague. These people aren't watching NBL on TV though and they’re certainly not seeking it out via an almost unwatched network in Viceland and streaming service OnDemand.

I think this is a reflection that people watching broadcasts are largely religious NBL followers - chances are they’re the ones that will follow the NBL anywhere to the extent it is easily accessible.

Given the glut of sports on Fox/ESPN/Kayo, it seems like sports fiends are not choosing the NBL to watch when given the option.

There doesn’t seem to be the kind of ratings growth to suggest casual viewers are tuning in, or that being on Kayo/Fox provides specific market reach that is being captured and utilised.

It puts the NBL between a rock and a hard place. Add that to dwindling FTA ratings - people aren’t watching TV like they used to, they’re flocking to streaming. But streaming isn’t just Netflix and Stan anymore. Fox have come in with Binge/Kayo; there’s Amazon Prime; there’s Paramount+ coming, there’s Disney+ recently entering. There’s Optus sports and then there are league passes. It’s fractured and overwhelmed with options with limited money people will spend on streaming.

Finally, there’s an element of shedding by FTA networks and Fox of sports expenditure that’s not the big 4 (AFL, NRL, Cricket, Oz Open). Netball got lucky with Fox being pursued through gov funding.

In my view, a best possible, realistic but not highly likely outcome, would be a few afternoon weekend games on an FTA Network, a streaming service carrying all games that has a significant subscriber base but not too much sport for basketball to get lost in, an investment strategy by the network to see the league grow and succeed and a decent financial arrangement over a significant period (lasting 4-5 years) that can see the NBL achieve stability and a semblance of sustainability.

Nine/Stan could provide that, maybe - but they would have to be seriously game to put the effort in.

SBS/ESPN I don’t think will provide a path to achieve unlocking the casual viewer market, it hasn’t thus far I don’t see that changing. It doesn’t seem to be driving an increase in value for NBL tv rights, the only thing that is seems to be the introduction of more sports streaming platforms trying to gain content. That won’t last IMO.

NBL have done a stellar job in making all games available and free via SBS On Demand and twitch along with all games on TV. It was once a dream to have all games on - used to look at the Foxtel magazine for all the 36ers games, count them and highlight them.