BTV Robbed by NBA’s Biased Scheduling Assignments

The first week of NBA playoff coverage on Basketball TV will focus on less popular teams like the Raptors and Pacers, rather than the more highly followed ones like the Warriors and Cavaliers. (Photo credit: Solar Entertainment)

The NBA Playoffs have not been kind to Basketball TV these days.

When the NBA released its playoff schedule for Filipino broadcast partners, five things stood out for Basketball TV as far as the first week of coverage is concerned. They are:

1. No assigned game to BTV for April 20, Wednesday. The said date (Manila time) will feature Game 2 of both the Hawks/Celtics and Spurs/Grizzlies series.
2. A combined six appearances in eight playdates for either the Raptors/Pacers or the Heat/Hornets series, with the other two assigned to the Hawks/Celtics series.
3. No Western Conference games, plus the Cavaliers/Pistons series.
4. No doubleheaders.
5. Three games shared with either ABS-CBN or ABS-CBN Sports+Action (Heat/Hornets on April 21, Raptors/Pacers on April 22, Hawks/Celtics on April 23).

This means that viewers on BTV will have to endure watching less popular teams such as the Raptors, Hornets and Pacers on a regular basis rather than the more marquee ones like the Warriors, Spurs and Cavaliers. So much for maintaining balance of coverage.

Even worse for the network is the lack of game coverage on select playdates. That will be the case tomorrow, as the NBA did not assign one game for BTV.

So what was left for BTV to do? They have no choice but to air the postgame edition of NBA Gametime, then replay it over and over again until the next game concludes.

Very unfortunate indeed. And that has been the case for the past few years.

Regardless of the expected negative reaction, it was and always will be the NBA’s decision to assign these games, so there’s no need to complain on it. That said, subscribing to both NBA Premium and Fox Sports Philippines is necessary to everyone who can’t stand BTV’s coverage.

If not, just endure the Taglish coverage of ABS-CBN Sports for this year’s playoffs. Good luck with that.

 

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Decision Time for the NBA on ABS-CBN

The 2014 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat will be shown on free TV’s ABS-CBN Channel 2, in the final year of its 3 1/2 year co-production deal with Solar Sports.

The NBA Finals begin Friday morning. And for ABS-CBN Sports, this will be their last chance to show NBA fans in the Philippines that they deserve to air the games live on free TV.

This year’s NBA Finals will mark the end of a 3 1/2 year co-production agreement between Solar Sports and ABS-CBN Sports. The agreement, signed in time for the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend, came after erstwhile coveror RPN/Solar TV decided to rebrand into ETC.

However, the Solar/ABS-CBN alliance proved to be problematic from the beginning. The Kapamilya network was criticized for broadcasting a majority of the games on a delayed basis, something previous partner RPN rarely did. Much of the blame was centered on the games aired on Channel 2, which prioritizes more on its news and entertainment programs rather than sports events like the NBA.

In fact, in the recent NBA Finals, Monday games that begin at 8:00 am Manila time were aired on a delayed basis simply because of Kris Aquino’s lifestyle show ‘Kris TV’. Perhaps ABS-CBN does not want to risk preempting her show, or that Kris was too influential for the network. In any event, these recent decisions by ABS-CBN Sports does not sit well with most fans.

Fans have also balked at how the NBA assigns its games to its global broadcast partners. In fact, this year’s playoffs saw less compelling series such as the Indiana-Atlanta and Brooklyn-Toronto series feature prominently on Basketball TV, while the Miami Heat and some of the Western Conference series were usually given to ABS-CBN Sports. Similar complaints also took place in more recent postseasons, thanks in large part to social media.

And there is also the bad case of lack of timing and advertisement overload. Ads such as KFC, Tanduay and Master astringents have interrupted game commentary prior to tipoff or a play, before the commercial break, and after a game. Perhaps the most insulting part of ABS-CBN’s repertoire is the fact that they cut any player interviews at halftime and postgame just to show sponsored highlights or game scores.

As the NBA Finals begin this Friday, a decision needs to be made with regards to the fate of the league’s Philippine free TV coverage. ABS-CBN should be in the running for renewal, since ratings for the NBA games have been very good despite numerous complaints.

Another possible contender may be Sports5, whose open slots in the morning may be more suitable to live NBA coverage than ABS-CBN’s. And while GMA may be considered a dark-horse contender, their lack of a sports division may prevent them from even bidding for NBA rights.

For now, the NBA coverage will remain with ABS-CBN Sports, at least until the end of this year’s Finals. But a decision regarding NBA’s free TV rights in the Philippines will have to begin as soon as possible. And basketball fans can’t wait.

No Monday NBA Games on Studio 23 for December

Last season ABS-CBN deferred from airing NBA games on Monday during December and early January, for no apparent reason. And basketball fans were obviously unhappy with the network’s belated move. Fast forward to this season, and ABS-CBN was again up to the same old tricks.

The game between the Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Clippers, which was finished hours earlier, was advertised to air at 10:30 a.m on Studio 23. However, basketball fans were surprised to see the Asianovela ‘Sungkyunkwan Scandal‘ instead, followed by a re-run of ‘Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata‘ and then the movie block ‘Lunch Box Office’. Enraged by the non-airing, basketball fans flooded the Studio 23 and ABS-CBN Sports pages on Facebook in hopes of an explanation, but ABS-CBN has yet to release a statement at this hour.

In my opinion, ABS-CBN’s old trick was simply ridiculous. By pulling the advertised game off the air, and not informing the viewers in advance, it angered many loyal basketball fans. Had ABS-CBN been able to inform the viewers as early as Friday, they would have been busy catching up to today’s other business. But instead they were busy awaiting for Studio 23’s 10:30 a.m. program, and what they got was a ‘Jewel in the Palace‘-like series, an old sitcom and an old comedy movie. And that is how ridiculous their decision is.

ABS-CBN has a lot of explaining to do. And while the NBA on Studio 23 won’t be airing on Mondays for this month, basketball fans can still catch up to their favorite team’s games in any of these platforms: Basketball TV, NBA Premium TV, Fox Sports Asia, or NBA League Pass. The NBA will still air on the ABS-CBN free TV networks, but for this month, they will only air on weekends, and possibly on the day after Christmas and New Year.

Honesto Debuts, The Gift Still Uncertain, NBA Season Begins

ABS-CBN will have a new teleserye debuting tonight. The drama series ‘Honesto’ focuses on a child named Honesto, whose recurring nasal allergies were a result of telling lies to others. The lead character’s willingness to remain honest and truthful amid the lies and conflicts surrounding his friends and family will be the main theme of the series, which airs tonight after ‘TV Patrol‘.

‘Honesto’ will be topbilled by young child actor Raikko Mateo, and playing supporting roles are Paulo Avelino, Maricar Reyes, Eddie Garcia, Janice de Belen, Melai Cantiveros, Jason Francisco, Angel Aquino, Nonie Buencamino, Joel Torre, Joseph Marco and Melissa Ricks. The series replaces the highly-rated Coco Martin starrer ‘Juan Dela Cruz’ which ended last Friday.

Meanwhile, the airing date of TV5’s ‘The Gift’ is still being determined. The series was supposed to start last October 14, but due to the then-ongoing PBA Governors’ Cup Finals, it was rescheduled for a future air date. The shelving of ‘The Gift’ forced the reshuffling of the network’s ‘Everyday All the Way’ primetime lineup, with ‘Let’s Ask Pilipinas’ airing at 7:00 p.m. followed by ‘Madam Chairman’ at 7:30 p.m. As of today TV5 management have yet to make an announcement regarding ‘The Gift’.

And for basketball fans in the Philippines, the 2013-14 NBA season gets underway this Wednesday morning. The Orlando Magic and the Indiana Pacers square off to begin the NBA season at 7:00 a.m. on Basketball TV. Over at Studio 23, the defending champion Miami Heat will raise their banner and begin their quest for a third straight title against the returning Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls at 8:00 a.m. And at BTV, the Hallway Series between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers concludes opening night at 10:40 a.m. Both the Heat-Bulls and Clippers-Lakers matchups will also be aired live on NBA Premium TV.

NBA Global Games in the Philippines

History will finally be made as the NBA plays its first ever preseason game in the Philippines this October 10.

Two days from now will be the historic first NBA preseason game ever played in the Philippines. Both the Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets arrived late yesterday afternoon and immediately conducted charity work and basketball clinics. They also practiced at the Mall of Asia Arena to acclimate themselves to the conditions of the said venue. And NBA legends led by former Rockets and Pacers players gave promotional appearances in anticipation of the event.

The Philippines has been long been known as a basketball hotbed, but despite the overwhelming popularity of the sport, no Filipino has ever played in the NBA. And although Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra had Filipino blood, his NBA connection came as a coach. The Filipinos’ lack of height is an arguable case here, along with the need of skill and high-end talent. Which is why the need of further training, coaching and breeding is a necessity in hopes of sending a Filipino to the NBA.

Despite the lack of Filipino representatives in the NBA, their passion for the league, its players and its games are undeniable. NBA games are aired daily in the country on Basketball TV and NBA Premium TV, with occasional free TV coverage on ABS-CBN and Studio 23. Active and retired NBA players have visited the country for exhibition matches, charitable causes and promotional purposes. And the league has conducted Jr. NBA and NBA Madness events to huge acclaim.

Such love for the league was finally rewarded when the league gave the Philippines a chance to host a preseason game for the upcoming 2013-14 season. However, before hosting the event, it needed a high-end sports arena, and SM management obliged by constructing the Mall of Asia Arena, which opened in June 2012. The MOA immediately stood above the rest for its plush, cutting-edge design, complete with the needed amenities well-suited to hosting big events like this year’s NBA Global Games.

With all that in place, the NBA finally gave it a go to hold a preseason game in the Philippines. And the road is all set for the historic preseason match this October 10, live around the world, including the Philippines.