Canberra Capitals coach Carrie Graf has described ABC cuts to women's sport television coverage as "tragic", but said the adversity would give the Women's National Basketball League a clean slate to put live internet streaming of matches back on the agenda.
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Australian female sport suffered a major blow when the ABC announced its weekly broadcast of WNBL and W-League soccer matches would be axed at the end of this season.
It ends a 35-year partnership between the ABC and WNBL. Graf hoped the public outcry would force the broadcaster into a rethink, urging fans to apply pressure by "voting with their eyeballs" and tuning into Saturday afternoon coverage for the remainder of the season.
ABC men's sports coverage, including rugby union's Shute Shield and AFL state leagues, has also been canned, but Graf insisted women's sport was most affected.
"Hard decisions have to be made all the time, unfortunately women get the rough end of the stick," Graf said.
The WNBL and W-League's quest to find a new broadcaster is helped by the fact it often out-rates men's NBL and A-League broadcasts.
The Capitals' last ABC game, against West Coast on November 15, attracted 46,000 viewers, while the Adelaide-Perth NBL clash last Friday night got just 34,000.
The W-League regularly attracts between 30,000 and 50,000 viewers. Some A-League broadcasts on Fox Sports have struggled to reach that barrier, although SBS free-to-air broadcasts have been significantly higher.
"I'd like to see people vote with their eyeballs, tune in and watch it from now until March," Graf said.
"That's a great way to say this thing needs to stay on television.
"Is it a disappointment and is it inappropriate women's sport is cut? Yes it is in my view. Does it provide another opportunity? Absolutely."
An alternative being seriously considered is live streaming, which has proven successful in the Australian Baseball League where fans can watch every game online.
The Capitals streamed their first home match of the 2012-13 season, but Basketball Australia banned them, claiming the quality wasn't good enough and could impact future broadcast negotiations.
"I'd like to see the day we're on free-to-air TV and we're live streaming all our games, that's where we should be headed," Graf said.
"Lauren Jackson and Penny Taylor are household names, American followers of the WNBA and basketball will buy a [live-streaming] subscription.
"I know Anthony Moore as the new [Basketball Australia] CEO is looking at it, I have every confidence it will happen sooner rather than later."
Moore said TV exposure was "essential", but the league needed to do a better job marketing the game. The Australian Sports Commission is in the final stages of a WNBL review, due to be released next month. A key factor is broadcasting.
"The point of the review is we need to do a better job promoting and marketing the league," Moore said. "If we can fill the stadiums, then we've got a more viable product when we talk to different broadcasters."
He said live streaming would be looked at, with the hope of it being introduced next season.
"The opportunities for digital broadcast are pretty significant these days, and the cost of production isn't as great as everyone thinks," Moore said.
