How to make it sexy

MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy's View from Downunder) - Rightio, here's a question for you. How do we get more people glued to their TVs watching professional basketball in Australia?

Originally I was going to write about what we learned from the various continental champs as we head towards the first FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain next year.

While some may say a number of teams were below full strength around the globe, the reality is a competition is made by who is on the court, not who is missing, and this international season was a gripping two months if you ask me!

However, as good as it was, something pretty big has come up in Australia, so we can talk World Cup next week.

I touched on it last week, and some people have told me it's not that big a deal, but I think new NBL management reaching an agreement to produce their own broadcasts for TV partner Network Ten creates a massive opportunity.

To demonstrate why, let me run you through what a casual viewer would encounter if they tuned into the Ten-produced broadcast in recent years.

- A 10-minute introduction featuring little but talking, with the hosts' faces dominating the screen, but providing only generic information about the upcoming game
- This was interspersed only by interviews with coaches (more talking heads), static graphics of the starting fives and occasional footage of players warming up
- Once play started and the first time-out was called the cameras would head into the huddle to hear more talking

So it was quite likely the casual viewer would reach the 15-minute mark and have seen little or nothing to stop them from changing the channel.

While hardened fans would know the significance of the match-up and the fact games usually get more exciting as they go, there aren't enough of them to deliver the television ratings needed.

Sadly, for those who did hang around it got worse:

- Lead commentator Steve Carfino was not a natural broadcaster - why he was in the position is a mystery - and called more on feel than any researched knowledge, meaning he stumbled over his words and often struggled for something to say
- Rather than replaying highlights the producers constantly replayed fouls
- This was hardly a great advertisement, and just as bad it led to the under-researched commentators constantly critiquing refereeing rather than talking about the players and analysing the game
- The half-time break had no focus on the rest of the league, instead being left to the commentators to repeat what they had already talked about during the game
- As the game wore on the number of highlights seemed to grow fewer and fewer, as if the replay machine had been packed up or was working on the closing sequence
- And if the game finished early there were no segments ready to show, instead leaving the under-researched commentators to conduct ad-lib interviews and engage in repetitive ‘analysis’

So what should have been the NBL's greatest marketing tools was instead one of its greatest detractions. For that reason, the league getting to produce its own product and present it in a way that will attract new fans instead of turning them off, is big.

So how do they make it sexy after a long period of dull? I'd love to hear your thoughts, here are a few of mine:

- Have an opening sequence that features the players and allows viewers to identify them
- Have a sharp five-minute introduction featuring highlights instead of talking
- Don't introduce the starting fives with graphics of shoes as Ten did (seriously!), have a highlight clip of each player to show the talent viewers will see later in the game
- Play audio of coach interviews when free-throws are being shot - with an inset shot in the corner of the screen - rather than playing them full screen before the game when viewers are tempted to change the channel if not entertained
- During early time-outs, show highlights from the teams' previous games to both excite the viewer and also give context to the game
- Only replay fouls late in the game or if they are particularly controversial. Instead, show replays of the exciting stuff that happens, and that doesn’t necessarily have to be a dunk or block, a fast-break or drive to the hoop is good to watch from different camera angles
- At half-time, show highlights and features from around the league to introduce the stars to viewers and make sure they are seeing the best action the NBL has to offer
- In third quarter time-outs then repeat the best highlights from the first half - more action and less talking heads
- If there is room at the end of the broadcast, have an edited package of an exciting finish from previous weeks, preferably a game that wasn’t on Ten so most viewers are seeing something new

That's it. There's nothing ground-breaking there. It's simple really - less dead time, less talking heads, more highlights and more action from around the league.

Let's hope the NBL gives the right direction to their production company.

Given they have negotiated the right to control the broadcast and have their say on commentators, I've got a good feeling they will.

Paulo Kennedy

FIBA

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