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Comcast, Big Ten Network reach deal

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by JBHawkEye, Jun 19, 2008.

  1. pressmurphy

    pressmurphy Member

    A network focused on a single conference's sloppy-second athletic contests (remember, the real networks get first pick of the real games in the real sports) is an idea whose time has not yet come.

    Gimme the "Watching Paint Dry Channel" as an alternative any day of the week.
     
  2. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    Nice...
     
  3. Sorry, I love the Big Ten Network.

    I live in a state that didn't always get all of my favorite Big Ten program's football games (meaning I had to scramble plenty of times to find bars in the past) and that lowly basketball program's games were rarely ever televised.

    I watched more basketball than I ever had in the past last season. It was amazing. Plus, I loved the midweek replays and extended highlight shows during football season...it helped those of us who, you know, end up covering prep tennis or volleyball in the middle of the Big Ten conference season.
     
  4. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    Totally agree on BTN's obnoxious homerism, but I was surprised over the holidays last year to see the Mich./App. St. football game replayed as a network "classic." Granted, the vault ain't very deep, and it was a helluva game, but I figured Michigan losing that had to be the Big Ten Network's darkest day.
     
  5. JBHawkEye

    JBHawkEye Well-Known Member

    My only complaint with the BTN was the numerous 8 p.m. basketball starts for Iowa this season (although I did like the two 5 p.m. Saturday starts).

    Other than that, I haven't seen enough of it to have an opinion.
     
  6. It's decent.

    Announcing and production aren't first rate, but why in the world would you expect it to be?
    But if you're a fan of a B10 school without Bubbler's high journalistic standards - not a slam, just pointing out most rabid college sports fans don't care as much about that stuff as we do - I don't know how you don't love the network. Every game is broadcast. The nightly highlights show goes way more in-depth than SportsCenter or, probably in most cases, your local news. Many games are re-broadcast during daytime hours. The series of classic games is decent.

    There's the matter of April-August, but nobody said you can't turn the channel.
     
  7. shotglass

    shotglass Guest

    Yeah, but "nobody said you can't turn the channel" is the rallying cry which equals "we got nothing."

    And if they got nothing, then it's not so great.
     
  8. From April to August, they got nothing.
    But from August through March, if you're a fan of a B10 school, it's pretty damn good.
     
  9. mustangj17

    mustangj17 Active Member

    Way too late for Comcast. Everyone in my neck of the woods switched to WOW. I get WOW digital for the price of Comcast Basic Cable. WOW has the BTN, and the NFL Network. So things are good.
     
  10. Bubbler

    Bubbler Well-Known Member

    I am a Big Ten fan, but where's the beef? The good games are on other networks, leaving bullshit like Northwestern-Delaware State men's basketball in PRIME-TIME!

    Did I call that bullshit? That's flying first class compared to telecasts of non-revenue sports, that frankly, no one outside of a cultish fan base and parents care about.

    It's a shoddy product, and as JB mentioned, the game times because an exercise in convenience for the network, not the fans, which in itself is an indictment of their mission.

    I don't blame cable companies one bit for not wanting to carry it. And I don't like the fact the Big Ten manipulated the loyalty of its fans to give them crap like prime-time Minnesota-Penn State games for the bone of an occasional game by the team they follow.

    Frankly, I'd rather have my Setanta back.
     
  11. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member


    Having the audacity to CHARGE for April/August is criminal arrogance.
     
  12. Bubbler

    Bubbler Well-Known Member

    Having the audacity to charge for any of it. It fills a need that didn't exist ... outside of the Big Ten offices.
     
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