The newly revived National Basketball League "has a game plan to boost its media coverage and win back lost audiences," according to Sally Jackson of THE AUSTRALIAN. Under NBL CEO Fraser Neill, the NBL "aims to match the profile and popularity of sports" such as A-League football. Neill said, "I do enviously look at what other sports are achieving. I look at the big boys, the AFL [Australian Football League] and the NRL [National Rugby League], but also at what the A-League is getting, and the cricket. I'd love to have that sort of coverage." In the current season, now in its seventh week, the NBL "is producing and supplying its own game coverage to Ten for the first time." It is also bypassing traditional platforms with its own online service NBL TV, "which streams every game live through its website." NBL Media & Communications Manager Paul Cochrane said, "Reaching our fans through online mediums is definitely a priority for the NBL." Neill "would also like to see mid-week games added to the schedule and is mulling over changes to make the sport more entertaining, such as miking players and coaches and introducing rule changes." Neill: "We can make great TV product" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 11/25).
