PBA on RPN
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| PBA on RPN | |
|---|---|
| Format | Sports |
| Starring | to be determined |
| Country of origin |  Philippines |
| Production | |
| Running time | varies |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | RPN |
| Original airing | TBD |
The PBA on RPN will be Solar Sports' coverage of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) starting at the 2008-09 season at the government-owned Radio Philippines Network (RPN)'s Channel 9 of which Solar is a block-timer. Curiously, Channel 9 aired the first PBA game[1] on 1975.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Bidding for rights
[edit] ABC backs out
The Associated Broadcasting Company (ABC) has broadcast the PBA games since 2004 on its VHF Channel 5, succeeding the failed NBN and IBC teamup which left the league in debt. ABC's contract is to expire at the end of 2007-08 season, hence the league opened bidding to broadcasters. ABC, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation (through ABS-CBN Sports) and Solar Entertainment Corporation (through Solar Sports) emerged as frontrunners in the bidding war.
ABS-CBN, which has been broadcasting the collegiate UAAP (of which the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the De La Salle Green Archers are arch-rivals) basketball games since 2000 produced the league's Ateneo-La Salle benefit game on March 2008, airing on its UHF affiliate Studio 23's Channel 23. Both teams were composed of current PBA players who had previously played for either Ateneo or La Salle.[3]
ABC was reported to be piqued at the way the league is handling the bidding practice, hence it backed out of the bidding process. ABC is scheduled to give the league P70 million for the 2007-08 season, it's last.[4]
[edit] ABS-CBN–Solar bidding war
This narrowed down the bidders between ABS-CBN, which plans to air the games on UHF affiliate Studio 23's Channel 23 and a Sunday game on it's VHF Channel 2 under the production of ABS-CBN Sports, and Solar Sports, which will air the games on channel Radio Philippines Network (RPN)'s Channel 9 of which it is a block-timer, airing its Crime/Suspense cable network on RPN. GMA Network was also reportedly in the mix but backed out; it however denied that they offered a bid.[5]
Another bidder came into fore: Makisig Network by businessman Hermie Esguerra, which would air the games on Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation's VHF Channel 13. However, it was reported that both ABS-CBN and Solar submitted identical bids to the PBA Board: P160 million for the first year, P168 million for the second and P170 million for the third year (compare to ABC's P70 million for it's fifth year).[6]
PBA Chairman Tony Chua of Red Bull Barako pushed the board to come out with a decision as soon as possible; former PBA chairman Ricky Vargas of the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals, a supporter of the ABS-CBN bid, said that money should not be a deciding factor. Also, Chua announced that Nielsen Media Research's research on comparative reach, demographics and audience share of broadcast network ABS-CBN and Solar Sports was to present its findings to the PBA Board.[7] Curiously, ABS-CBN earlier sued Nielsen on December 2007 due to allegations of rigged TV ratings.
After receiving Nielsen's data, another provider, Mind Shares, was consulted. By this time, the bids were now slightly different: Solar's bid is P31 million better than the amount being offered ABS-CBN in the first three years of its offer, while ABS-CBN is apparently offering a four-year package with the option to sign a three-year contract-extension at the end of the initial deal, with Solar a straight-up three-year deal.[8]
[edit] ABS-CBN backs out
ABS-CBN backed out its bid after receiving a solitary vote in the 9-member board. However, Solar Sports didn't automatically clinch the bid outright since the league was "insisting on a lockout to protect business interests of its team members".[9] It was revealed that, according to Mind Share, if the PBA aired on RPN, it would rate 7.9%, while if it aired on Studio 23, it would rate 1.8%, "without taking into consideration the tremendous cross-promotions boost that would immediately impact on ratings under an ABS-CBN partnership."[10]
This caused Solar Sports to be the de facto front-runner.
On May 27, the PBA announced that Solar Sports won the rights with a deal reportedly worth P508 million. Aside from live games aired on RPN, Solar would provide additional coverage on its Basketball TV cable channel.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "SOLAR SPORTS BAGS 3-YEAR PBA TV DEAL", PBA official website, 2008-05-27. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
- ^ Macamay, Zean. "Solar gets it", People's Journal, 2008-05-28. Retrieved on 2008-06-02.
- ^ Ochoa, Francis. "Expect fireworks in Ateneo-La Salle PBA showdown", Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2008-03-19. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
- ^ Castillo, Musong. "ABC5 backing out of PBA TV bidding", Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2008-04-10. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
- ^ Orellana, Joel. "ABS-CBN appears to have edge in PBA bidding war", The Business Mirror, 2008-04-14. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
- ^ Celis, Beth. "Identical PBA bids by Solar, ABS-CBN", Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2008-05-01. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
- ^ Nathanielsz, Ronnie. "Chua wants board to decide early", Manila Standard Today, 2008-05-06. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
- ^ Beltran, Nelson. "PBA defers decision on television rights", Philippine Star via abs-cbnnews.com, 2008-05-23. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
- ^ Hernandez, Lourdes Florian. "ABS-CBN withdraws PBA television bid", The Daily Tribune, 2008-05-24. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
- ^ Nathanielsz, Ronnie. "ABS-CBN won’t bid anymore", Manila Standard Today, 2008-05-24. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
[edit] See also
- PBA on KBS - The PBA's original coveror.
| Preceded by PBA on ABC |
PBA TV coverage partners 2008 |
Succeeded by (incumbent) |
