CABLE'S TIP-OFF TIME

BY SHIRLEY BRADY

National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern announced in April he'd have cable carriage deals in place for NBA TV by Labor Day ? ?a statement that I want you to call me on,? he told reporters at a press conference.

So we called. And, it turns out, the league's 24-hour network will begin rolling out to customers of Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Cablevision next month.

The multiyear affiliation agreements will make four nights a week of live NBA games available to more than 22 million of the MSOs' customers. NBA TV includes 50 high-definition telecasts this season, plus playoff and WNBA games. It also offers expanded original programming, such as a weeklong special for All-Star Week and new shows coming in November such as Real Training Camp, a reality show starring the Denver Nuggets.

The network is also offering pre-Olympics coverage next summer and international coverage such as this week's 2003 Asian Championships (from China) playoffs leading to the Oct. 1 finals that will determine the Olympic qualifiers from Asia.

?We want to give people the insider's access to basketball,? says Gregg Winik, EVP of programming and executive producer for NBA TV. ?We will embed cameras and producers with our teams, our players and even the league front office to give basketball fans the perspective of the greatest game.?

This past spring Time Warner Cable and Cablevision joined Comcast in offering a free preview of NBA TV's coverage of the 2003 NBA playoffs, including up to seven first-round playoff games. In addition to the live games, the preview offered cable subscribers exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the locker rooms, postgame and off-day live studio shows plus vintage NBA games.

Although Comcast ? renowned for its ?intense? programming negotiations ? has yet to finalize its agreement with the league, Cox is on board to offer NBA TV on its digital sports and information tier, just as Cablevision is making it available to its iO digital cable subscribers. Time Warner is expected to add the network to its digital sports tiers, already available in Charlotte, N.C., and Albany, N.Y.

NBA TV is in 30 countries and 53 million homes worldwide. In the U.S., it is available to 45 million U.S. homes via In Demand on cable and on satellite TV from Dish Network and DirecTV.

All NBA teams will appear this season on NBA TV, which offers a schedule of 96 games; roughly half the games will be transmitted in hi-def. Hoops fans can also get regular-season games from ABC and on cable from ESPN and ESPN2 (64 and eight games, respectively) and TNT (52), which is telecasting LeBron James's pro debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 16, a preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers. James's regular season debut game (against the Sacramento Kings) will air Oct. 29.

NBA TV has evolved since it launched as NBA.com TV and became a free digital barker channel for operators selling In Demand's NBA League Pass. A big selling point for its three charter cable partners this season, says Ed Desser, president of NBA new media and strategic initiatives, was the channel's broad slate of games and additional programming in hi-def.

Its quality live programming and deep archives also enable interactivity down the pike, another critical piece of its long-term value for operators. That means striking mutually satisfactory fee arrangements with operators is a necessity ? hence the slightly longer than expected negotiations leading to these first cable deals.

?This network can be utilized in a variety of ways depending on the needs of the operator ? such as to enhance a basic digital platform, to grow digital sports tiers, broader sports and information tiers or entertainment tiers,? says Desser. ?Depending on the particular need of an operator or its affiliate in a particular market, they'll have the flexibility to position NBA TV in the manner most appropriate to their situation.?