ABS-CBN to Air NBA Finals Game 7 Live

Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals will indeed air LIVE on ABS-CBN Channel 2, preempting ‘Magandang Buhay’ and the premiere of ‘Kuroko’s Basketball’ season 3. (Promotional photo courtesy of ABS-CBN)

ABS-CBN is finally doing something right for once.

Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, according to ABS-CBN, will be aired LIVE. But since the game will be held on a Sunday in the United States (Monday in the Philippines), the game time will be at 8:00 a.m. Manila time, an hour earlier than usual.

Circumstances like this warrant a delayed telecast because of the presence of ‘Magandang Buhay’. But with Game 7 of the NBA Finals obviously the most important game of the season, ABS-CBN finally decided to give in to the viewers’ demands.

Thus, ‘Magandang Buhay’, along with the premiere of ‘Kuroko’s Basketball’ season 3, will be preempted for today, and the NBA Finals will air LIVE on Channel 2. It will still be called in-studio by Boom Gonzalez, Ronnie Magsanoc and Benjie Paras, among others, alongside TJ Manotoc on location in Oakland, California.

Basketball TV and NBA Premium TV will also simulcast Game 7 of the Finals with English commentary via ABC in the United States. There will also be a live viewing party at the NBA Cafe in SM Aura, Taguig.

The 2016 NBA Finals pits the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, and the Golden State Warriors, led by Stephen Curry. The Warriors seek to win back-to-back titles and validate their record-breaking 73-win season, while the Cavaliers look to end a 52-year title drought for Cleveland with their first championship.

The Warriors initially led the NBA Finals 3-1. But thanks to a pair of 40-point games by LeBron James, the Cavaliers were able to force a Game 7, and will now try to become the first team in NBA history to win the championship after trailing 3-1.

Replay of Game 7 will be later tonight at 10:30 p.m. on ABS-CBN Sports+Action, with another replay to be aired on an undetermined time tomorrow morning. Basketball TV and NBA Premium TV will re-air Game 7 at 7:00 p.m.

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Thoughts on the New NBA TV Contract with Solar/ABS-CBN

A new television contract between the NBA, Solar Entertainment and ABS-CBN should bring in more games to the viewing public. (Photo credit: ABS-CBN News.com)

New contract, new hope, and new expectations.

This is exactly what happened when the NBA, Solar Entertainment and ABS-CBN signed a new television contract last Friday. The contract signing, held at the NBA Cafe at Taguig’s SM Aura, featured NBA legend Darryl Dawkins, along with NBA Asia Managing Director Scott Levy, Solar Entertainment President and CEO Wilson Tieng, and ABS-CBN Narrowcast head March Ventosa.

Under the terms of the new deal, Solar Entertainment (through Basketball TV and NBA Premium) and ABS-CBN Sports (through ABS-CBN Channel 2 and ABS-CBN Sports+Action) will air around 30 NBA games per week throughout the regular season. In addition, highlights and special programs like ‘NBA Action’ will continue to air on each channel.

While the new contract deals seem enticing enough for NBA fans, there are still some old problems to face with regards to the game broadcasts.

One is the ongoing issue regarding tape-delay broadcasts. These scenarios will remain prevalent throughout the season, either due to programming constraints, broadcast limits, or game scheduling conflicts, and as such, are unavoidable.

Two is the questionable selection of games. The NBA always has the authority to select the games for its international partners, but for some reason, fans have continued to balk on some of their selections, especially when a game between either one or two rebuilding teams is picked over a more compelling matchup involving big-name teams and players.

And third is the game presentation. While NBA Premium will continue to air games uninterrupted and without the aid of local advertising, the same cannot be said for Basketball TV and ABS-CBN Sports. As such, expect the latter two channels to continue their rabid placement of advertisements in every game, quarter to quarter and highlight to highlight, even if it takes cutting the broadcast short just for these.

So heading into the new season, the same old problems will once again await both Solar and ABS-CBN. Still, expect more of the same intense action that the NBA has always offered, from the regular season all the way to the championship.

Notes: In addition to Basketball TV, NBA Premium and ABS-CBN Sports, Fox Sports Philippines will also broadcast a select number of NBA games this season. They even went as far as picking the games themselves, contrary to the NBA policy of selecting its games for its international partners.