Inside the Hall - Latest Comments in Comcast, Big Ten Network soon to join forces

Re: Comcast, Big Ten Network soon to join forces

Jake — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:47:05 -0000

I already got IU games for free and now I gotta pay for em, and the BTN is supposed to be good for me???

Re: Comcast, Big Ten Network soon to join forces

JohnM — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:12:44 -0000

Sorry, I posted before I finished. As I was saying, the BTN's public position was that the BTN had to be on the expanded basic tier everywhere in the Big Ten footprint and on the digital-only sports tier everywhere else. Comcast's position was that the BTN should be on the digital sports tier everywhere. The big caveat is that we know nothing about the money, but in terms of placement, the BTN got 94 percent of what it wanted. That doesn't sound like a win for Comcast, at least not to the BTN's detriment.

Re: Comcast, Big Ten Network soon to join forces

JohnM — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:08:23 -0000

How do you figure it's a loss for the BTN? The stated goal all along was for the BTN to be on "expanded basic," which basically means they wanted it to be available as a non-premium channel to people without cable boxes. Typically, channels like ESPN are on "expanded basic," with true "basic cable" including only local channels, religious channels, and all the crap no one wants. For instance, see this link to, randomly, Cox Cable's listing for Louisiana system. All of the popular cable channels (ESPN, ESPN2, CNN, Fox News, A&E) are on "expanded basic." "Expanded basic" is a marketing ploy. The Big Ten's only concession seems to be that in areas on the fringe, the network can be on a digital tier. The Big Ten