The first matter on the agenda is finding a new commissioner, who will initiate and implement plans for the future. The PBA has many serious challenges facing it. It will definitely take a while to recover from the changes in schedule, both real and artificial, created for the Asian Games and as concessions to its current TV franchise holder, Viva-Vintage.
Among the things the contenders for commissioner must consider is how to expand the audience base of the PBA. Like any long-lasting product, it must cope not only with maintaining its current audience, but reaching down to the younger set. The wild success of the UAAP (and, a far second, the NCAA) has shown how big an untapped market the young adults are. The first UAAP-NCAA All-Star game audience was at least eighty percent female, and mostly high school and college students. You could tell by the shrill cheers that persisted every time the ball changed hands. More than half an hour after the game, women still crowded the south gate of Araneta Coliseum, shrieking for autographs. How can the PBA tap that rich segment?
Secondly, how can the PBA channel the alienating image of a Fil-Am dominated league? Athletically, mixed-blood players add a certain premium. Culturally, they’re miles away. Also, the growing, unexpressed resentment felt by local players who are increasingly worried about their careers must be addressed. One big public relations bonanza would be for the league to show it cares for those who have built up its image over the years.
Third, how well will the commissioner control officiating, always an Achilles heel, a sore spot that never seems to go away.
Fourth, will the league want to infuse young blood, or stay with the established order? Will the new commissioner have carte blanche to make changes, or will the current establishment have to fade away first?
The next major point is who will get the television franchise. At the last board meeting, a five-hour deliberation produced no clear decision. The two groups each possess their own advantages. The combination of Bobong Velez, RFM COO Joey Concepcion, PLDT’s Choy Cojuangco, and former GMA 7 executive Butch Jimenez is a potent mix. Velez adds the longest experience in sports broadcasting, and now he has the financial backing of a group of investors who want to throw their considerable resources into sports. However, the swing factor may well be the airtime that everyone covets for a franchise the magnitude of the PBA.
The NBN-IBC combine has all the airtime, in fact, too much of it. Will the simultaneous broadcast of the PBA games on two networks double the market, or half it?
Realistically, the deal between the two networks could be the deciding factor for them. How much revenue will the two share, or how much has one promised the other? Curreently, NBN 4 is the one negotiating. What will IBC’s role in the mix be?
NBN will probably not touch its successful TeleDyaryo, which airs from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. So it may be possible for IBC to carry the PBA games on weekdays, and NBN on weekends, or some similar arrangement.
Last-minute backroom dealings aside, each team has its merits. However, Velez’s group must present a home for the PBA. If it’s another network (perhaps ABC 5), will it have the reach that an NBN or IBC will have? And how solid is the NBN-IBC partnership? Would either one of them consider bolting to offer airtime to Velez and company?
Questions, questions. These are very interesting times for the PBA, indeed.
You may reach me at bill_velasco@hotmail.com or thebasketballshow@yahoo.com.