Hoops

A-League team troubles continue

Simply saying FTA coverage(or lack of) is the root cause of the sports success or failue is way to general, there are so many other factors which are involved

I personally think that the increased interest in the league this year is due to the quality of the actual product more than just having a FTA TV presence.

After years of having what was percieved by many as a mickey mouse leage where rich owners (Groves/Cowan/McPeake etc) did what hey wanted and changed the rules to suit themselves in the pursuit of "Success" and therefore consigning the other clubs to being unable to compete, we have a tightly contested high quality competition. On any night any team can win and the clubs have reigned in their outlandish spending and are now viable concerns. (Sure there is a way to go but we are heading in the right direction)
The league itself is now seen to be stronger than it has been for years and running itself professionally.


These factors are what is generating increased interest and now complementing the improved product with increased media exposure can only do good things.

TV rights have nothing to do with the financial troubles of an A-League Team. A similar problem exists as to why the NBL was restructured a few seasons ago in that private owners with more money than sense were allowed to purchase licenses.

Business plans are one thing but it is the achievement of them that determines if a sporting team is successful or just an ego trip for the owner. Unfortunately in both the old NBL and the A-league it is the newly rich owner that usually makes a hash of it and the players suffer.

Yeh i agree with the A league coverage Mutley. but when they had NBL they did nothing to promote it and only showed melbourne tigers game if they were to show any. i have had foxtel and realised im better off spending that money on my internet plan and download/stream everything i watch as our TV channels and Pay TV channels are just stupidly out of date. if you want anything on time you have to go out and get it yourself. but yes A league is always on foxtel but unfortunately i got rid of it and cant watch it anymore and i cant justify the money just for a league. but i do get your point mate.

The problem with A-League is that its a model (as was the previous NBL) founded upon the generosity of wealthy benefactors.

Australian sport needs to understand that, with the exception of Rugby League and AFL, all of our professional sports leagues are essentially minor league teams. While they can be and often are entertaining and profitable in their own right, the notion of them ever having 'world's best' competition is a nonsense.

Minor league baseball in the US exists in a very similar way - as a feeder system and training ground for MLB clubs. Yet most of these clubs are profitable and popular within their own markets. Fans get to lay claim to stars on their way through - I remember when Jawai played for us before he went to the NBA sort of stuff, while also enjoying the competition right now.

The key is being profitable. I have never seen the A-League model as successful and while everybody has been quick to bag basketball over the years, and hail the A-League as a model of how to re-invent a sport, frankly I don't think 'football' can hold a candle to basketball in this country in terms of either international results or the quality of the local league (but I may be a tad biased). Particularly when you consider the resources poured into the sport by both individuals and governments. Imagine if Con Constantine had spent $15 mill on the Newcastle Falcons over the past six years rather than the Newcastle Jets?

i think the massive downfall of the A-League (which was the same downfall of the NBL) was selling out to pay tv. there is a lot of interest in A league but pay tv coverage is shocking at best, specifically referring to when it had the NBL and unfortunately the audience dramatically drops when it comes to pay tv. A league really needs to be on free to air along with NBL and i think we would see both leagues doing well. i personally believe that with NBL back on FTA we will see one of the best seasons in a long time in relation to the audience size in both the stadiums and on TV. if A league got the same exposure we would see similar things.