INSIDE SPORTS: ABS-CBN FOOTBALL COVERAGE GETS HIGH-RATING
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 20 Dec 2010
We were pleasantly surprised and pleased at the television ratings of the first match in the Suzuki Cup semifinals between the Philippines and Indonesia staged in the 80,000 seat Bung Karno Stadium which was built in 1960 and is the tenth biggest football stadium in the world.
ABS-CBN?s top honcho Gabby Lopez instructed Vice President for Sports Peter Musngi to somehow get the Philippines games for telecast on Studio 23 after he realized the potential of the sport and the newfound public interest. No doubt interest was stirred by the quality with which we played the game and the roster of good looking young men who donned the country?s jersey.
Gabby Lopez was keen on giving substance to the philosophy of ?In the service of the Filipino? in the arena of a sport long neglected in our hierarchy of interests. If the results of the telecast of Game 1 vs Indonesia is any criteria then he certainly made the right decision. But that would clearly never be enough. It cannot be a one-shot deal. ABS-CBN or any other TV network for that matter needs to follow through on what has been an initial breakthrough. The sport needs a well thought out and and sustained program to build on the gains achieved in the Suzuki Cup while at the same time shunning the internal struggles and debilitating politics of Philippine sport.
Indeed, a powerful TV network?s involvement and its persuasive influence in football is likely to help remove politics from the sport and to effectively stabilize the situation and allow the sport to grow because it is indeed in the service of the Filipino.
The ratings should also open the eyes of the members of the PBA board to the harsh reality of our present time and circumstance which shows that the pro league is not the attractive proposition it used to be, although teams like Ginebra, B Meg Derby Aces (Purefoods to many) and San Miguel Beer continue to spark interest and draw fans to the venue.
Overall however, the PBA board must realize that they don?t have a product that networks and advertisers will chase like they used to at a time when Vintage Enterprises Carlos ?Bobong? Velez lifted the PBA telecast to unequalled heights over a long period of time behind a total dedication to producing a top class coverage.
The board also needs to appreciate the TV medium as it is today and not be swayed by unsubstantiated if not unintelligent claims that a UHF Channel like Studio 23 cannot match the reach or the audiences of a free TV channel like RPN 9. That misconception and a little additional money in terms of a franchise fee saw the board which had first indicated it would go with ABS-CBN turn around and award the coverage rights to Solar Sports.
Now, Solar Sports is negotiating with ABS-CBN as well as Manny Pangilinan?s ABC 5 to unload the PBA coverage in what must be regarded as a setback to the PBA itself no matter how you look at it. Given this situation, the PBA board under chairman Rene Pardo needs to come down a notch from its lofty position of yesteryear and engage interested networks with a reasonable negotiating posture.
The ratings of the football match last Thursday were, according to Musngi, ?amazing.? While it is it true that this was effectively a one-shot deal, it must be considered against the reality that basketball is the country?s premier sport on TV and that football had failed to make a dent at all in the sporting consciousness of the Filipinos. However, a truly excellent print media coverage followed by attention by the major TV networks made a meaningful difference alongside the gallantry of our team on the field.
Imagine. The RP-Indon match on Studio 23 out-rated the PBA games the previous day. The PBA 1st game rated 1.0 percent and Game 2, 1.7 percent in Mindanao while football rated 1.8 percent. In the Visayas, the PBA rated 1.4 percent and 1.7 percent while the football match rated 4.4 percent. In Mega Manila the PBA rated 1.4 percent and 2.6 percent while football rated 3.0 percent. Finally, in the suburbs the PBA rated 1.6 percent and 3.5 percent in the triple overtime game between Meralco and Rain or Shine while the football basically on the main game timeslot rated 4.0 percent.
Figures tell the story. It may not be the whole picture but it certainly indicates that football has an exciting future and if PBA basketball is to revive the glory days, the board itself and the teams must imbibe the dynamism of youthful Commissioner Chito Salud whose grasp of the nuances and commitment to excellence will surely help pave the way for a turnaround. Time is off the essence and the PBA must launch a last second shot just like MacMac Cardona did in that triple overtime game realizing that if anything, time is not on their side.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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