I Want My Big Ten TV?

Following the "success" of "The Mtn", the Mountain West Conference TV channel, the Big Ten is scheduled to roll out its own TV network in August.

The start-up will air nearly 400 conference events in its first year, headlined by 35 football and 105 men's basketball games that previously would have fallen to regional syndicate ESPN Plus or gone un-televised. The Badgers' football game vs. The Citadel will be broadcast on B10TV.

It remains to be seen if Big Ten fans will have the Big Ten Channel on their cable line-up. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney is engaged in a stare down with cable providers over the placement of the Big Ten Channel. Delaney believes the Big Ten Channel should be on the regular cable line-up and subscribers should pay $1.10 per month for the privilege. Comcast and the other cable providers are insisting that the Network be placed on a "sports tier."

I'm not sure what Delaney is on, but he is delusional if he thinks the Big Ten Network should in the same sentence of ESPN or Fox Sports Net. For reference, the $1.10 per month per subscriber the Big Ten is asking is more than the NFL Network charges ($0.70).

Because of the selection process for games, with ABC and ESPN getting priority, the Big Ten Network will often get the third or fourth choice of games. For example, the Network's opening-weekend slate features all three of the league's most recognizable powerhouses, Ohio State (vs. Youngstown State), Michigan (vs. Appalachian State) and Penn State (vs. Florida International), all versus sub-standard opponents. When asked about the quality of games, Delany balked at the critics' appraisal of the network's offering as "second and third-tier events."

If no progress is made this summer, Big Ten fans will have a decision to make this fall: stand behind Comcast and the other cable providers in their fight against the Big Ten's ridiculous demands or switch to Directtv.