Give And Go
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
And so the waiting game continues.
A week into the 2019–20 season of the National Basketball Association, Filipino fans are still awaiting word when they get to see the games on mainstream TV.
Since the partnership between the NBA and Solar Entertainment lapsed on Sept. 30, local fans have been settling for the broadcast of games over social media — Facebook and Twitter in particular — provided by the office of the league here, and for those who can afford by way of NBA League Pass, the premium subscription service of the NBA.
Solar used to operate the Basketball TV and NBA Premium TV channels, which were widely acknowledged as the go-to sources on TV for comprehensive NBA coverage in the country.
This writer had the chance to sit down, along with other members of media, with NBA Philippines managing director Carlo Singson last week where he discussed their plans this season, particularly on the broadcast of games.
The NBA Philippines head said they are in continuous talks with multiple groups, both local and international, as broadcasting partners even as they reaffirmed their commitment to the Philippines as a “priority market” for the league.
Mr. Singson went on to say that they are bent on making things happen, looking to complete a deal “way before the end of the season.”
While as a fan such is a welcome news, knowing that something is being done on the matter, still with nothing concrete on sight at the moment, one cannot be blamed for being concerned.
It has been reported that among those bidding for the broadcasting rights here is the group composed of Cignal, TV5 and ABS-CBN (Sky Cable), a joint bid that would see them broadcast NBA games on various avenues, including free TV (TV5 and ABS-CBN S+A) and cable (Cignal TV and Sky Cable).
But hearing the side of Jane Basas, Cignal TV and TV5 president, during Smart’s launch of its Get Gold! Campaign for the Southeast Asian Games on Monday, any optimism of them getting the rights should be guarded.
Ms. Basas admitted that the bidding process has been a challenging one, especially since they think the price of the broadcasting rights is “expensive” despite it being lowered already.
She did not provide the actual figure though.
The Cignal official went on to say that their offered bid still stands, and given the chance she expressed their readiness to bring the games to the Filipino fans the best way they can.
They are hopeful to get word back from the NBA this week.
Also in the picture as possible broadcaster, according to reports, is CNN Philippines, although nothing concrete has come out of it as well.
At this point, I guess we, Filipino NBA fans, just have to wait and see how things will pan out. But hopefully it is not too long a wait.
Filipino fans have been supportive of the league, there is no denying that.
While they will flock Facebook and Twitter to watch the games and shell out money for their subscriptions for League Pass because they are that big of an NBA fan, still they deserve a steady and sustainable platform for their NBA fix which television can provide.
So to the NBA, please make it happen.
Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld reporter covering the Sports beat.
