Hoops

Where does the future (viewership) of the NBL lie?

But I guess the question is, does the future lie in chasing;
(i) 10% of the Australian TV Audience,
(ii) 1% of the American TV Audience, or
(iii) 0.1% of the Chinese TV Audience?

the future is in getting all those kids who go to games now with mum and dad to keep going to nbl when they grow up. the future is in building stronger ties with grassroots clubs, local teams and casual players and getting them excited about nbl. the future is offering a decent night out for a family at a competitive price to going for a meal or the movies that the kids will rave about on class with their friends the next day. that's where you build the viewers for the long-term; you make it part of people's lives.

I think it's time to get away from the commercial network dream and start streaming on platforms like Twitch. That's the future.

SANFL average crowd per game in 2018 was ~2,300.

Finals crowds were larger, with over 40,000 at the grand final. The GF didn't have to compete with AFL, which directly affects SANFL regular season crowds.

Not sure how relevant it is but Super Netball is on channel 9 proper this season.

Aussie, I am not sure what the NBL has to really barter those terms, other than maybe the rights to the Boomers v USA games. Pretty sure getting NBL on a main channel at prime time is still a massive pipe dream.

* hopefully

Best case scenario imo is every game live on Fox Sports again, a live Saturday and Sunday afternoon game on FTA and hopeful 1 prime time live game on a Friday or Saturday evening (on FTA) And hopefully move these games from 9Gem to Channel 9

I’m not certain the sanfl does average 6000 but the afl media coverage generally in main stream media and even locally is far greater than the nbl. It’s just good to see the nbl getting stronger and hopefully continues in strength.

"but tv ratings and ticket sales are trending upwards"

Ticket sales are doing pretty well, but if we see it in context, the average crowd is still just over 6'000 people. If we compare that to other major sports it's pretty small scale. Pretty sure SANFL teams get comparable crowds. Sure, different sized venues, but still.

As for TV ratings, a 10 percent increase going from SBS to Channel Nine isn't much to write home about. The ratings are still meager.

The NBL seems to be improving its stock in public perception, and it is drawing more eyeballs, but it is still a long way from where it needs to be to be sustainable without cashed up entrepreneurs like Larry Kestleman throwing their money at it. I'm not sure that there is this huge well from which we can draw fans and revenue.

the future lies in St Elmo's fire

“I still pretty much ignore the AFL pre-season.”

As do most AFL fans. The NBL probably competes more with AFLW than AFL pre-season.

Future lies in appealing to more mainstream sports fans in Australia, and turning casual viewers into fans. I happen to think NBL is heading in the right direction for this. Others here disagree, but tv ratings and ticket sales are trending upwards.

The All Australian team has been announced with some 'surprise' selections.

B) Dempster McPharlin Glass

HB) Waters Richards Birchall

C) Cotchin Watson Beams

HF) Dangerfield Franklin Rioli

F) Milne Hawkins Cox

1R) Natanui Thompson Ablett

INT) Deledio Kennedy Pendlebury Swan

I think there's some pretty average selections and omissions to say the least. Natanui is an overhyped inclusion and I think Dempster and McPharlin were average selections.

I would've run with the following:

B) Birchall Glass Enright

HB) Waters Richards Reilly

C) Cotchin Watson Beams

HF) Dangerfield Franklin Rioli

F) Milne Hawkins Pavlich

1R) Cox Thompson Ablett

INT) Deledio Kennedy Pendlebury Swan

Thoughts?