College Sports

At last, Big 10 fans living in the Big 10 states will actually be able to get the Big 10 Network (BTN).

Comcast, the leading cable provider in seven of the eight states where Big 10 schools are located, came to an agreement with the BTN that will provide access to the network beginning August 15, just in time for kickoff.

The seven states included are Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Iowa, the eighth Big 10 state, does not have any Comcast subscribers.

BTN had been holding out for $1.10 per customer and wanted to be on basic cable packages. They settled for 70 cents per customer and will be on expanded basic in the seven states. Outside of that region, Comcast has the option of placing the network on it’s Sports Entertainment Network or other service tiers.

BTN is owned by the Big 10 Conference and Fox Cable Networks. It is groundbreaking in the fact that it is the first network owned by a conference, although other conferences are now looking into starting their own networks. BTN covers all sports offered on the conference level, giving broadcast views to sports that rarely get it.

As I said in a previous article (Big 10 Network: A Bad Idea Gone Worse) , this idea will probably snowball, and the sports fan will pay and pay and pay. We’ve already been priced out of the stadiums and arenas. Corporate money trumps Joe College Alum any day. But in the hunt for the $$$, the “Show me the money” mentality has taken over.

So stay tuned, America. Next up? SEC-TV. Pac10-a-vision. Big East Coast Bias TV. You name it, you’ll pay for it!

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