PBA TV bidding game

The game is on. The country’s biggest television networks and independent producers are now putting on their Sunday best in hopes of landing the rare chance to cover the Big Show in local sports: the PBA games.

The five-year contract between the Philippine Basketball Association and Viva-Vintage expires at the start of the new year, and practically every network in business wants to have the chance to squeeze a fortune from the television rights.

What will it take to take over the PBA broadcast franchise? First of all, prospective broadcasters will probably not have to fork over the P330 million plus franchise fee per year, but it will still be stratospheric. Secondly, given the traditional double-header schedule three times a week, the coveror must have at least 15 hours of airtime to allocate to the PBA for over a hundred playing days a year. The cost on paper alone is staggering. If one hour of prime time costs a minimum P150,000 per hour, then 15 hours would mean a minimum of P2,250,000 a week. So you get the idea.

What does the landscape look like for possible bidders? Well, GMA 7, which got into a tug-of-war with Viva-Vintage a couple of years ago, has signified that it will not participate in the bidding this time around. ABC 5 has not been a factor in previous bidding. ABS-CBN, which bled hundreds of millions of pesos pumping life into the MBA, will not shunt aside its blockbuster game shows and telenovelas for PBA. Moreover, the game will definitely run over its flagship news programs, which it will definitely not sacrifice. This leaves Studio 23, which currently broadcasts the UAAP and NCAA games. But the PBA has said it wants free TV, nothing else.

This leaves independent producers and the three government networks: RPN 9, NBN 4 and IBC-13. Each has had a long history of being involved in sports, as well.

Radio Philippines Network, Inc. (RPN) was the first network to broadcast the Olympic Games in the Philippines thirty years ago. They were responsible for covering most of young Mike Tyson’s heavyweight title fights, and still broadcast most major championships. However, they have also carved a niche for foreign programs, which has put them on a collision course with Studio 23 in fighting for the rights for canned shows. This may keep them out of the race for the PBA.

Meanwhile, there is an interesting scenario that could develop between National Broadcasting Network (NBN) and Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC). NBN was where Vintage Enterprises used to air the PBA games before they transferred to IBC, and holds the rights to the Olympics until 2008. IBC, for its part, wants to deal directly with the PBA, instead of just renting out its airtime to independents like Viva-Vintage. Also, IBC is running third in the ratings behind ABS-CBN and GMA, and would like to niche into sports to build its own market. For the moment, IBC is not really keen on game shows and serial dramas.

How does this affect independent producers like Viva-Vintage, Silverstar, the PBL group and veteran sports producer Bobong Velez, who has the most sterling track record among those who’ve handled the PBA telecasts?

Unfortunately, their one Achilles heel is that they do not have the airtime that networks own. Conceivably, the government networks could agree among themselves to submit a flat bid first. It would be pointless for them to compete against each other and drive the price up, since they’re both using the people’s money. Secondly, they could agree to shut out independent producers, so that they would be able to receive the potential revenue from the games’ advertising themselves, instead of just airtime rental.

Unless one of the independents can ensure the airtime through another agreement with one of the government networks, they stand on shaky ground. What good is building a house if you don’t own the land it will stand on?

It may boil down to a backroom political maneuver. Any of the independents could offer revenue sharing to NBN or IBC, providing the network is open. It may be mutually beneficial, and the network will be ensured some income without the inconvenience of marketing the games themselves. However, if the network believes it could make money on the PBA on its own (which can be done), then the independents are in trouble.

So don’t believe everything you read about who’s got the inside track. After all, we don’t really know what’s going on in the backrooms, do we?

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The Basketball Show will not be broadcast today to give way to the opening of the WNCAA tournament. We will resume next Saturday with part 2 of our interview with Mark Caguioa.