Coming home to ABC

ABC-TV welcomes the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) with a big bang–a slam dunk, in hoop lingo–on Feb. 22.

Never in the PBA’s 29-year history has the red carpet been rolled out with as much fanfare, hype and hope. ABC is locking in prime-time hours initially from Wednesday to Sunday and eventually, from Monday to Sunday to position the PBA as a hard habit to break.

ABC chairman Antonio (Tony Boy) Cojuangco described the PBA as "a prime-time league" in a recent press conference and backed it up by assigning prime-time hours on the network. He called the PBA "the sports staple of ABC" and basketball as "the sport of choice of most Filipinos."

ABC’s commitment is a major shot in the PBA’s arm. ABC looks like it’s ready to battle the majors on TV and the PBA will be a chief weapon in its arsenal. The partnership couldn’t be more mutually reinforcing–like a marriage made in heaven.

The word is in ABC’s programming mix, 40 percent will be devoted to news and public affairs, 40 percent to entertainment and 20 percent to sports. You can’t go wrong with a balanced diet like that.

In the transition Fiesta Cup, the PBA has scheduled doubleheaders on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays with a provincial game on Thursdays. ABC is airing the second Wednesday game live from 7 to 9 p.m. and the first match on Friday, also starting at 7 p.m. The Thursday contest will be shown on a same-day basis at 7 p.m. The Saturday and Sunday games will be shown live starting at 4 p.m.

The PBA inked a three-year deal to play about 75 percent of its games at the Araneta Coliseum, the most popular venue among fans. There will be some Saturday games played at the PhilSports Arena. The Cuneta Astrodome and Makati Coliseum will take a rest from the pros.

As the season progresses, ABC will look into the possibility of putting PBA shows on Monday and Tuesday prime-time slots. Under study is a regular spot for PBA classic games.

PBA chairman Buddy Encarnado said the league hooked up with ABC because "we owe it to the fans to give our best." PBA commissioner Noli Eala couldn’t be happier.

A source said ABC’s thrust is to go beyond the technical aspects of the coverage and capture the drama of the game by portraying the players as human gladiators in a conflict situation. There will be 10 to 12 cameras with three slo-mo angles zooming in on the action so viewers can expect visuals similar to what a National Basketball Association coverage delivers.

"It will be like story-telling," said the source. "ABC will bring out the emotions of the coaches, the players, the fans."

The talk is ABC is investing a lot in writers and researchers to dig up interesting facts about players and coaches to share with viewers. The treatment will be personal, exciting and enriching. It’s exactly what the PBA needs and what the fans want–the players will be projected as athletic heroes who are at the same time, real people.

ABC’s Bobby Barreiro, who masterminded the network’s bid to clinch the PBA’s telecast rights, is known in media circles as a marketing whiz, a programming genius and a creative storyteller. He previously organized bids for the GMA network and a private consortium to gain the PBA rights. Barreiro finally struck paydirt on his third at-bat.

After two bridesmaid finishes, walking down the aisle must be a great feeling for Barreiro. He worked hard for his shot and brought back the bacon. Now that he’s on board the PBA bandwagon, you can expect Barreiro to give it all he’s got to make sure coming home to ABC will be an experience like no other.