I Want My NBA (on TV)

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In the year 1985, the band Dire Straits released a single entitled “Money for Nothing,” a hit song that was popularized by one of its lines, “I want my MTV.” Remember that (addressed to those of my age)? This was the time when MTV was a big hit and revolutionized the music industry. So what? Today, I’m singing the same song, but changing the lyrics to “I want my NBA,” and add “on TV.”

Believe it or not. The NBA season has started and this basketball-mad country does not have an official TV broadcaster for NBA games until now. I just can’t fathom how a country whose number one sport is basketball doesn’t have NBA games on any of its TV networks. It doesn’t make any sense at all! Solar Sports, through its channels BTV and Solar used to own the rights to broadcast NBA games in the country, but this expired on September 30. In the previous set-up, NBA games were also made available on ABS-CBN via its channel S+A. Other sources of NBA games were NBA TV, NBA Premium and Fox Sports (Asia). The average household that had cable TV was guaranteed (and spoiled) with a daily dose of NBA games on TV.

Today? We have none of that and it looks like it’s going to be that way unless a major breakthrough is made in the ongoing negotiations between the NBA and the TV networks that are bidding for the rights to air NBA games. For now, we’ll have to deal with the live games “aired” or “streamed” through the Facebook page of “NBA Philippines.” The streaming of the Lakers vs. Clippers game that kicked off the season drew millions of viewers, paving the way for what could be the major source of NBA games for the 2019-2020 season. The page has a regular schedule of games to be streamed, giving the fans the chance to watch these games on their personal computers, laptops, tablets and cellphones. It’s obviously something new and a first for the country, but can it match the reach and impact of a game shown on TV?

The TV rights issue has gotten to a point that ABS-CBN and Cignal have reportedly teamed up to propose a joint offer for the rights to air NBA games. The two giants who also happen to be competitors, are joining hands in a rare display of Pinoy teamwork/unity. It has gotten this far (and long) as the asking fee of the NBA has skyrocketed through the roofs of both broadcast networks and is reportedly way up there that TV networks will surely lose their pants if they bite at the price. Let’s face it. The NBA has gotten so big globally that it now has the leverage to dictate the selling price, regardless of how mad we are as a basketball nation. Does the NBA recognize all the Pinoy fans? I’m sure they do. But do they care if we don’t get our dose of NBA games on TV? Probably not. What they care for the most is the price. As Cuba Gooding yelled to Tom Cruise (Jerry McGuire) in the movie, “Show me the money!” The NBA continues to sing (or yell) this tune, and will play the waiting game until the price is right. Sad, but so true and something we need to accept as reality. Here’s an interesting note via a quick look at Wikipedia. All basketball-watching nations in Asia have an official broadcast partner except the Philippines. For the Philippines, the label reads “TBD” (to be decided), or is it “ TV Basketball is Dead?”



Should Pinoy fans be worried? I’m sure some are, but knowing our creativity and resourcefulness, I have a funny feeling we’ll find our way out of this. It’s similar to the NBA merchandise market but to a different level. We all know how the NBA store at the Ayala Center Cebu closed down due to low sales. The main reason was because they priced themselves out of the market. Only the AB market could afford their prices, and the fact is that our population is composed of a mass-based market in the C and DE socio-economic classes or segments. But the irony of it all is that you still see a lot of NBA-inspired jerseys, shorts, t-shirts, jackets, sweaters, baseball caps, towels and even socks all over the place, all of them with the official Jerry West-silhouette NBA logo. Were this bought at the NBA store in Ayala? I seriously doubt it. I wonder if this can be replicated in the TV market. Hmm. Can games of the NBA find its way to the homes of the Pinoy fans in a creative manner? This is obviously a very tricky proposition, but aren’t we Pinoys resourceful? I can now see all those techie people working out a way to watch NBA games for free.

Meanwhile, we’ll have to settle for the Facebooked NBA games or by subscribing to NBA League Pass online. It’s fairly simple. You pay an annual fee and get to watch NBA games online. The fees are annual, monthly or weekly, depending on one’s pocket. The top of the line is an annual fee of P4,700 that covers all 1,230 NBA regular season games, every NBA Playoffs+Finals game, and All-Star Weekend. One can also download games for offline viewing and is given access to NBA TV with 7-day archives. I now sound like a sales rep of the NBA, don’t I?

I’m praying that this impasse end asap as we Pinoy fans are suffering from this NBA-less TV disease. Can the NBA do without its Pinoy fans? I really doubt it. Don’t worry. This will all end very soon. For now, load up on as much data as you can on your cellphones and pray that your internet signal at home remains strong or gets stronger. Welcome to the new age and the way to watch NBA games.

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