From Deseret News archives:

Big Ten finalizing cable deals

Published: Sunday, April 15, 2007 12:13 a.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When it launches in August, the Big Ten Network wants to be available in every cable- or satellite-wired home in eight states where its schools play.

That's the goal, anyway.

So far, only satellite provider DirecTV and a handful of small local cable companies have signed on, Mark Silverman, the new sports network's president, said Wednesday during a news conference at the University of Illinois.

"Everyone we've talked to admits and values the Big Ten as a brand, as a network," said Silverman, who declined to discuss details of any negotiations or identify the cable companies.

"These discussions are just very involved. They're very complex," he said.

Silverman joined the new Chicago-based network, co-owned by the Big Ten and Fox Cable Networks, in December after working as general manager and senior vice president of ABC Cable Networks Group.

The Big Ten Network plans to show all of the conference's football games that aren't broadcast elsewhere — at least 35 a year. It also plans to show at least 105 regular-season men's basketball games, 55 regular-season women's games, 170 other events from sports such as softball and track, and Big Ten championships.

Story continues below
The network also owns the rights to tapes of Big Ten football and basketball back to 1960, Silverman said, allowing it to produce "classic" programming similar to that featured on ESPN Classic.

When it launches, the Big Ten Network will be the second TV network in the country devoted to the sports of a single conference. The Mountain West Conference launched its own — The Mtn. — last fall. Other conferences, notably the Southeastern Conference, also have talked about networks.

The mtn., a joint venture of the conference and Comcast Cable, now is carried by 16 cable companies in seven Western states, spokesman Ron King said. But no satellite carrier has signed on yet and the network is not being carried in one of its biggest states, Texas, he said.

"That's been a negotiated point for a long time," he said. "It's still being pursued."

League- or team-specific sports networks — even those focused on major leagues such as the NFL — typically have difficulty getting cable and satellite carriers to add their programming as part of basic packages, the kind customers don't have to pay extra to watch.

"Every major sport, to some degree, is faced with a competitive marketplace in the TV world," King said.

Silverman said the Big Ten's national footprint and the size of its schools give his network a much stronger starting point.

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

previousnext

Latest comments

Has anyone given thought that the best way to avoid unwanted pregnanies is...

NY lawmakers reject gay marriage

Marriage has hardly been the foundation of every civilization. Please learn...

This show is still on the air? I thought ABC cancelled this show 2 years ago....

It would be more accurate for Scott Smith to say that the majority of people...

MWC awaits bowl destinations

"If the Las Vegas Bowl wants credibility, it should do the right thing and...

'Abortion is wrong! No excuses! Not rape, incest, health of the mother. A...

Max Hall did right thing after tirade

Im amazed that so much aniomosity has been directed towards Hall. Has anyone...

why does hatch care? he won't vote for the health care bill anyway

Sloan gets 1-year extension

It not that the Jazz lose, just "won and done" in the first round of the...

My family owns a cherry farm in Box Elder. We had an accident on our farm 20...

Advertisements