Hoops

NBL TV free for members, also includes historic games

NBL getting some love on Oz Bargain.

https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/267443

Absolutely nothing would get it to load at all. Rebooted my router, rebooted my PC, nothing. Plugged my phone in and set up tethering and it worked.

So something to do with my connection, but no idea what given I'm getting 5Mbps download and can watch YouTube and Netflix just fine.

Try refreshing? It's working for me...there's a timeout atm

Can't even load it at all now, the progress bar is stuck at zero.

Was working perfectly last night. Netflix, YouTube etc all work just fine. Problem can't be at my end.

Telstra cable

I've had no problems...

Yeah, I've spent more time watching the buffering screen than I have watching the basketball.

The league has not set a date for when subscriptions will open, but has pencilled in late September, around the time of the pre-season tournament, now known as the Australian Basketball Challenge, in Brisbane.

I think the potential launch was a few weeks after the announcement which was only a week ago. I sort of read the NBL's comments as the launch being potentially after the Pre-season Basketball Challenge.

So we're roughly a week away from the ABC, which was given as a potential launch time, and still no news.

Which means either they have a launch date, they're just not telling us because they don't feel like it, or they don't have a launch date because they don't know when it'll be ready.

Does the first of those options seem at all likely? I'd put more faith in it if they hadn't announced anything yet, but they have.

That's interesting and unfortunate about the factory if true.

Not sure if the above is confidential, but it might be worth deleting the post.

Uniform design is done by a contract firm, and then approved by the league and clubs. So it's a collaborative effort.

Rumour is that there was a fire in a Gold Coast factory that is responsible for some of the uniform production. If there is a delay with some of the clubs getting kitted out and selling new merch, then that could explain it.

I don't know how long the actual streaming service portion of it has been in the works - old NBL TV existed back then - and I'm only piecing it together from things that have been said publicly, no inside knowledge.

I'd assume the streaming portion is fairly recent, if Telstra are heavily involved. This is only their second year as a league sponsor. However, it wouldn't surprise me if the league has been working with them right from the sponsorship announcement last year.

From what I understand this version of NBL TV has been in planning since the de-merger back in 2013.

From what I understand this version of NBL TV has been in planning since the de-merger back in 2013.

The simpler things can require significant logistics for those with limited resources.

It might not be the best example as I don't really know how hard it is kitting out clubs, but i'm always surprised how it takes until the very first game of the season for NBL clubs to wear their new season gear...unless you're Melbourne United. You'd think by now 36ers would be using their Mitchell & Ness stuff, or the Hawks and Taipans would be wearing something better than training gear for pre-season games. It actually portrays the NBL as unprofessional IMO.

(As an aside, for those who want to apportion blame for crappy design - Melbourne United designed their own singlets so this indicates that responsibility lies with each club and not Mitchell & Ness)

More relevant to the streaming, i'm not convinced they even have the app or streaming site completed enough to provide screenshots at this point. I wouldn't even be surprised if the app and streaming site lacks polish or even consistent functionality on release. That's perhaps pessimism exuding from NBL's historic track record with technology and things generally.

A video or graphic walk through is again, something where the limited resources and man power of the NBL is probably being directed else where instead.

I look at it this way: for now LK is bringing basic competence into the NBL which has lacked for decades, but i'm not confident of the operations being polished and professional just yet. It might get there with LK, I certainly hope so.

True, but I'm not sure which parts of that would cost anything. The huge press conference, sure, but you can convey the same information in other ways.

I don't think the NBL has WWE kind of money

Well, presumably it'll launch at some point, too, and we'll obviously know plenty then. It's just a bit frustrating not knowing exactly how excited to be.

When WWE Network was announced, they had screenshots of the front end, a presentation walking people through how it worked, very specific content listings, and an exact launch date. This has none of that. Even just a launch date would be helpful.

As it stands, I might well die of excitement before it even opens up.

They said there would be more announcements soon. Just hold up on that.

I do wish there was more detail about what games are included, what their sources are, how searchable/sortable it's all going to be, etc.

Couldn't even get a straight answer about whether games that only part-aired on ABC (the one-hour "Sunday Basketball" versions from 98-01 and the second-half-only broadcasts from 79 to the mid-eighties) are in full. I do happen to know the Sunday Basketball games were recorded in full, with commentary, and then edited down later, rather than being edited down and then dubbed over, but I'm not sure if that would be the case further back.

I thought it said full membership

Yes.

"Fans of a particular club who are not full season ticket holders will able to watch their nominated team at home and on the road for free"

Am I the only one interpreting as aimed at fans buying 3/5/7 game part-season tickets, rather than just anyone and everyone?

Great news and like Betty I hope there will be options for those us with shitty internet connections to still be able to stream the games in lower than HD quality.

Did not renew my Season Tickets this year but will definitely subscribe to this. Able to watch on all my devices live or delayed is just great. I will continue subscription in the off season and watch old games and to support the service.

If the quality is any thing like catchup tv services it will be good. I subscribed to the old nbl.tv by Perform and though it wasn't a good product I was satisfied with it. I get 2.3Mbps down so Internet is not great for me. That's why I still have not got netflix yet.

It's not designed to generate income, it's designed to get more people watching the league, and people who already follow it watching more often.

This is great and I'd happily pay $5/month regardless, but I wonder about move.

If it is free to watch every game of "your team", and free for all NBL members to watch everything, how many other NBL fans will want to watch games not involving their team? At $5/month multiplied by a small subset of the NBL fan base, it seems like this might not generate much income.

May as well just use YouTube to steam every game. That'd be free and reliable, so only production costs of games are involved without the need to rely on other streaming partners (I still have very bad memories of nbl.tv with Perform doing the streaming).

NBL App on Apple TV would be massive. For me at least

There is nothing on the Telstra webpage at this stage for the NBL.

I can't wait for the classic games. It will give me plenty to watch during the off season.

@Bobby - Fans of a club that are not season ticket holders wont get the full access pass for free. They can nominate their club and will only get access to that clubs home and away games. They wont be able to watch other games not featuring their team or have access to the classic games, hence the 2 different statements :)

Personally, I think it's an act of genius moving towards an all-digital strategy, especially considering it's free for many and next-to-free for everyone else. That's the way the world is going, and the NBL isn't going to draw the same type of lucrative tv deals the other major leagues get anyway, so go for it IMO.

I loved having all the games on Foxtel this past season, but would love it even more if I could stream them live or on-demand with good video quality, which was the biggest issue with the old NBL.tv.

To be honest I'm (far) more excited about the classic games than this seasons stuff. Obviously because in the classic games I still have a team

Settle down Bobby.

I need to start apologising for such long posts if I keep this up...

I assume Telstra mobile customer will get the subscription for free as thats what they do for the NRL and AFL. It will also most likely be unmetered for Telstra customers, meaning it doesn't count towards you mobile data usage.

They've said that Telstra *mobile* customers get access for free

I need to start apologising for such long posts if I keep this up...

How does the AFL situation work, out of interest? I know that Telstra mobile customers get it for free - does that extend to the Telstra TV version or just the mobile version?

They've said that Telstra *mobile* customers get access for free - I don't know if that's only for mobile app access or how it will work. I don't know if Telstra TV customers will have to pay or get it for free.

Let's assume for now other Telstra cutomers ie home phone or internet are not included as that would cover almost everyone in Australia....

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I'd be interested as to how many people watch the streams this year, next year etc. I wonder what the NBL's aim is for buying customers, total of individual streamers and total of overall streams for the season.

An FTA deal is still going to be super crucial - preferably main channel. Even if it's game of the week Sunday afternoon. It will have the NBL and its sponsores exposed to 80-100k+ viewers each week.

Fox you get lots of coverage, you get maybe 20-60k watching matches ratings wise and you get the NBL shown in pubs nationally (which tbh I think would push the viewers beyond that mark.... incidentally, on more than a few occasions at decent restaurants & pubs I saw NBL on the TV last season while eating or having drinks with mates)

These types of figures the NBL won't get from streaming yet, and they won't be able to access that mainstream market like TV.

Has it been established Telstra customers will get it free?

The other thing you missed was that all season members get it free.

Regarding this replacing TV: I'm with KET. Even with as much free availability as it has, you still need to not only know about it, but also sign up. There's not any sort of 'just turn it on and watch' option like there was with the Olympics coverage.

There's also the fact that places like Netflix charge millions of people $12 a month, whereas NBL TV would be lucky to charge 20,000 people $5 a month. Most people who want the paid service are already going to be season members; the free one-team service will be enough for most fans.

Sean I think they're different options. Telstra customers will get it for free. Others, who don't have Telstra and only want to watch their own team will get it free. Others who want full access will have to pay.

So this is actually pretty damn awesome. Can't wait to see some old games. I'd pay 5 a month just for that. I'm Facebook they replied to my comment and said it'll only geoblocked in NZ so I'll be able to access in Brazil.

Looks like a lot of early mornings for me!

Bit confused on the bit where is says

" Fans can access every game of their club of choice for free"

So that means for say i'm a Taipans fan if thats the only team i want to watch i can get it for free"

ie- I'am a Telstra customer as well

I highly doubt that Tom, the NBL announced only a month ago they've got Fox as a broadcast sponsor for the next few seasons.

Plus, it would be suicide to go 100% streaming. This is actually a big call to heavily invest given it will take a sizeable chunk of the budget for the medium-long term - that's effectively requiring significant cross-subsidisation.

I know that Netflix and the 7Olympic App do well, but they're mainstream while the NBL doesn't have the kind of ability to push their app like Channel 7 does, nor are they instilled in popculture like Netflix is. For streaming, you need to get people to 1. Be aware of NBL TV and 2. go to the effort to sign up/potentially pay - you won't get that in major numbers from the mainstream.

While at least Free to Air (and even Fox Sports) people may see the NBL just by turning on the TV or flicking through channels.

Digital coverage is great - but 100% as a complete replacement for Fox/FTA would be disastrous...even in this digital and streaming age.

This move looks to me as a sign of the NBL and Fox parting ways after this season and becoming the first Australian pro sports league to be 100% covered digitally through streaming.

Including historic games is a masterstroke for mine. I wasn't a fan before the 13/14 season and I recently became an NBL junkie after being strictly an NBA fan. After watching NBAussie's Golden Era doco's I am more keen than ever to see the leagues heydays

"Building on Telstra’s successful portfolio of sporting partnerships, the expansion will enable basketball fans to watch live NBL through the popular Telstra TV streaming device and will allow every Telstra mobile customer to enjoy every minute of NBL coverage live for the 2017 season starting in October."
So where is the free coverage for Telstra users here?

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/basketball/nbl-tv-can-be-mostwatched-digital-sports-channel-league-boss-larry-kestelman-20160907-grauak.html

The link for those interested - it's definitely worth a read because it gives an idea of the NBL's plans, expectations and determination in respect to its digital product.

In brief:

#1 Unlikely games will be streamed via Foxtel's online services.

#2 NBL is making a "heavy investment" in online coverage and working with Telstra on NBL TV. They have heavily boosted the support and technical backing for NBL TV.

#3 NBL is paying for production for all NBL games

#4 NBL TV have hired the same company as the NBA to provide TV graphics

#5 NBL TV to be streamable via Chrome Cast, Apple TV and other TV services

#6 This is a very heavy financial commitment, taking a long-term approach, but have a lot of corporate support and more sponsors coming on board.


I'm surprised by the lack of Foxtel online streaming. I think this suggests the NBL is taking complete control of the product for its NBL TV.

Also surprised by the fact the NBL is paying for all of the production costs (I gathered this was shared last year with Fox?). Maybe this is LK's way of dictating quality of coverage, or a compromise which had to be made to convince Fox. By the sounds of it, it took some serious negotiating and convincing for Fox to agree to the new deal.

It's a good sign the NBL have engaged the same company as the NBA to do graphics, although I actually think the NBA TV graphics suck....also Fox's NBL graphics last season were pretty decent.

It's seems NBL have put a lot of its eggs into NBL TV and digital product generally, so this points to their emphasis on getting this right and trying to create market reach and commercial opportunities out of it.

Honestly imagine what the NBL would be now if it wasnt for LK and JL wow!

I'm actually finding this a little bad in one sense. My previous philosophy with old content was to watch every single game I could get my hands on, and the limited availability meant I could do that.

I'm going to spend a lot of time worrying about what I'm missing out on now. I do have a reasonable list of games I want to watch that I haven't been able to find; hopefully most or all of that will be on there. After that...I have no idea what I'm going to do.