The announcement that the NBL will return to free-to-air television on One HD and Network Ten has Australian basketball fans fired up. Those who found Foxtel too expensive, or last year's Brian Taylor-Shane Heal announcing combo too painful, are anticipating coverage akin to the good old days of the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Is this move going to be the saviour of a game that has struggled for attention in a crowded sports media landscape? I'm not convinced.

Essentially it all comes down to whether or not One HD is going to embrace the sport and help build it, or if this is just another "product" to help fill a programming need.

One HD is a young, growing network and requires all the live sport it can get, whether that's basketball, swimming or netball. It's the same theory that got Australian Rules Football on ESPN in the States in the mid-80s: live sport is better than non-live sport (although don't tell that to Channel Seven).

The acquisition of the NBL rights doesn't necessarily mean that One HD believes elite basketball has a massive upside. In fact, think of the NBL as Australian sport's version of the Bundesliga. One HD airs live Bayern Munich matches, not because Ten GM David White loves Miroslav Klose, but because rights to the English Premier League, the Serie A or La Liga weren't available.

So let's accept that the NBL fills a nice little need for One HD. It's live sport, it's relatively cheap (the deal was reportedly worth $3 million) and it takes content away from a rival, in this case, Fox Sports. And let's agree that this move gives the NBL an opportunity to be seen by more people.

The big question though, is how do you market the NBL? Or do you?

Remember, this is a league that's made no bones about wanting to get smaller, with a reduced salary cap and fewer big-name imports. This season's NBL, touted by league PR people as the "closest season ever," had nowhere near the quality or entertainment value of past seasons. The lower cap meant that good young Australian players (David Barlow, Matthew Knight) decided to look overseas instead, while show-stopping players (Ebi Ere, Donta Smith) didn't return.

The other puzzler for One HD is the NBL's decision - whether conscious or not - to "de-Americanise" the game. I'm not sure how a network promotes something like that when it's already airing the NBA, the world's best hoops league, and one relentlessly driven by the American hip-hop hype machine.

So what will One HD do? I'd love to see them really get behind the NBL and spend some good money on production and promotion. I'd also like to see them tell the people at NBL HQ they need to ramp things up a bit and lift the standard of play. Maybe raise the salary cap, get some of the young kids back from Europe and let the imports do what they do best - entertain. How about trying to entice Joe Ingles and Patty Mills back, and make them the faces of the league?

My guess, however, is that it will be plug-and-play. You'll essentially get the same NBL you've been getting for the past 10 years. Steve Carfino's already doing work for One HD, and an article in The Weekend Australian suggested Andrew Gaze and John Casey might join him. Maybe they can save money on wardrobe by sewing a One HD patch over the Fox Sports logo.