Big Ten Network

theshadow · 08-11-2007, 11:00 PM

Originally Posted by HandSanitizer

In Reality....Iowa will probably be on ABC a couple times (free), Local KDSM 5ish times (free)...

The BTN is taking the games that used to be televised on KDSM (but produced by ESPN+). That's why there's such a stink being raised. Looking ahead, that means no more h*wk basketball on KDSM, either.

HandSanitizer · 08-11-2007, 11:08 PM

Thanks for the heads up on that! So basically that means that every game that Iowa Plays from now on is a Nation wide telecast (as long as you receive it)
That is a heck of recruiting tool if you ask me. Iowa Recruiter goes to California to try and sign a 5 star athlete and his parents are worried they will never get to see him play. Recruiter says.."Acutally we are on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN U, ABC and BTN. You won't have any problems seeing your son play"

Big 12 schools other than the power houses are like "Currently we only have one game committed to TV, but we hope to be on more"

That is NOT getting it done. I know Pollard says we have a good package, but I wonder if its killing him deep down.

ALSO...How the heck do all those Basketball games get played on BTN??? There is 11 teams and they all play different teams on usually the same nights for non conf. and during the conference play they normally play the same nights. That sounds like a nightmare getting all those games scheduled if nobody can broadcast locally anymore.

Dave19642006 · 08-11-2007, 11:25 PM

If anyone even cares, Direct tv will have the BTN September 12th but no idea what channel they will have it on. Also you would need to get the 2nd tier programming to get it.

theshadow · 08-11-2007, 11:31 PM

Not every game. They could still very easily not be televised on occasion. But yes, more often than not, they will be on ABC/ESPN(1;2;U)/BTN.

I'm not certain how the allowances will change basketball scheduling. There may be a 'fourth tier' option which could allow for SOME local production, but I haven't heard one way or another.

The Big 12 has several huge obstacles in its broadcast path:
(1) TV sets. The population in Big 12 country is rather sparse, especially when stacked against the Big Ten.
(2) Exclusivity. This kills any chances of having multiple games on multiple networks at the same time, and doesn't allow for local (i.e. Mediacom) productions.
(3) Big money schools. The rich will get richer until a better revenue sharing program is introduced.
(4) Winning. If you don't win, you're not an appealing choice for 'neutral' viewers.
(5) Available windows. Everybody wants to be on ESPN so badly, there are conferences fighting over each other to play football on Tuesday and Wednesday night just so they can be on ESPN. That's just awful. The shifting of programming to BTN will open up some spots for the Big 12, but not a bunch.

The announced number of broadcasts for Big 12 football breaks down as follows:
ABC - 16 to 18 games, in a combination of afternoon and prime time
FSN - 22 to 24 games, including those sublicensed to ESPN (4-5)
VERSUS - 5 games

...and that doesn't include the nonconference road games which fall under opponent TV packages. Bottom line is, there are more Big 12 games on TV, but still not as many as the Big Ten, nor are they all on a single platform (ABC/ESPN family).

HandSanitizer · 08-11-2007, 11:40 PM

I hear you about not enough TV sets in the B12, but in a day where I can sit in China and monitor my house via webcam and Turn my lights off...I should be able to catch a frickin football game.

I think Number 2 is the one that is killing us the most. That rule is just stupid.

theshadow · 08-12-2007, 12:12 AM

Originally Posted by flyhighcy

Most Iowa Fans will be able to watch the game due to the fact that almost EVERY locally owned small cable company in Iowa signed on the BTN

Show me the list of cable providers, please. This is very hard to believe.

Originally Posted by flyhighcy

next year ISU fans wil NOT be able to watch the Iowa-ISU game unless their cable company carries the BTN and it will be that way every other year.

Says who? Four of ISU's last five trips to IC have been on ESPN or ESPN2. That's because the Big Ten nonconference schedule doesn't feature a whole lot of BCS action. If ABC gets pick #1, and ESPN still gets picks #2 and #3, there's very little chance ISU-Iowa goes down to the BTN.

Big Ten schedule for 9/13/2008:
Michigan at Notre Dame (NBC)
Ohio State at USC (Pac 10 rights, maybe ABC primetime)
Penn State at Syracuse (Big East rights, maybe ESPN2 AM)
Wisconsin at Fresno State (WAC rights)
Iowa State at Iowa
Florida Atlantic at Michigan State
Montana State at Minnesota
Southern Illinois at Northwestern
Central Michigan at Purdue
TBA: Illinois, Indiana

Barring miraculous scheduling by Illinois and Indiana, how could ISU/Iowa drop to the BTN given the other possible selections?

theshadow · 08-12-2007, 12:19 AM

Originally Posted by HandSanitizer

I hear you about not enough TV sets in the B12, but in a day where I can sit in China and monitor my house via webcam and Turn my lights off...I should be able to catch a frickin football game.

I think Number 2 is the one that is killing us the most. That rule is just stupid.

I won't disagree with that. Just think, if there were no exclusivity or PPV clauses, one could theoretically watch the JTS video board feed live via Clone Zone with John and Eric accompanying. How awesome would THAT be?

Side note: Nebraska actually did this one time a couple of years ago (against San Jose State?). Because of the PPV rule, they ended up offering a webcast via huskers.com for $19.95 (specified price). Don't know what kind of response it got, or the quality of the webcast, but I'll bet there were quite a few Fusker Faithful willing to shell out the cash.

heshwar · 08-12-2007, 12:27 AM

This is a pretty good article on the situation.

SI.com - Writers - Stewart Mandel: Big Ten Network fighting cable battle for viewership - Tuesday June 26, 2007 4:48PM

I think a lot of people will be disappointed they won't be able to watch the game like the used to be able to. Games that were previously free now have to be paid for.

The question is ...will there be enough people disappointed to make the BTN successful.

As far as ISU and the B12 are concerned yes exclusivity is what I think is killing us. The B12 should definitely wait see what happens with this. The L11 has sunk a lot of money into this and taken away a lot of regional free coverage in favor of paid national coverage...it could easily backfire. IMO

Wesley · 08-12-2007, 01:16 AM

Originally Posted by theshadow

I won't disagree with that. Just think, if there were no exclusivity or PPV clauses, one could theoretically watch the JTS video board feed live via Clone Zone with John and Eric accompanying. How awesome would THAT be?

Side note: Nebraska actually did this one time a couple of years ago (against San Jose State?). Because of the PPV rule, they ended up offering a webcast via huskers.com for $19.95 (specified price). Don't know what kind of response it got, or the quality of the webcast, but I'll bet there were quite a few Fusker Faithful willing to shell out the cash.

11000 households paid the 20 bucks.

theshadow · 08-12-2007, 07:02 AM

Originally Posted by Wesley

11000 households paid the 20 bucks.

Another $220,000 in single-game revenue that NU didn't really need. Wow. Even if they agreed to give SJSU a small cut of that, they still made a killing.

brianhos · 08-12-2007, 09:02 AM

Originally Posted by jbhtexas

All the more reason to cancel the Iowa series and look for a game with a team that will get on TV...

Umm but the Iowa game is on tv? What do you accomplish by rescheduling someone else? Plus it is on the basic tier of most cable companies, it is on basic of Directv.

brianhos · 08-12-2007, 09:03 AM

Originally Posted by theshadow

The BTN is taking the games that used to be televised on KDSM (but produced by ESPN+). That's why there's such a stink being raised. Looking ahead, that means no more h*wk basketball on KDSM, either.

And that is FANTASTIC!

No more pre-empting house or 24 for hawk basketball, and then tape delaying them till 11 and not being able to watch it in HD.

brianhos · 08-12-2007, 09:05 AM

Originally Posted by Dave19642006

If anyone even cares, Direct tv will have the BTN September 12th but no idea what channel they will have it on. Also you would need to get the 2nd tier programming to get it.

It is on their primary tier, it is like channel 220 or something. Right past ESPN.

brianhos · 08-12-2007, 09:09 AM

Originally Posted by theshadow

I won't disagree with that. Just think, if there were no exclusivity or PPV clauses, one could theoretically watch the JTS video board feed live via Clone Zone with John and Eric accompanying. How awesome would THAT be?

Side note: Nebraska actually did this one time a couple of years ago (against San Jose State?). Because of the PPV rule, they ended up offering a webcast via huskers.com for $19.95 (specified price). Don't know what kind of response it got, or the quality of the webcast, but I'll bet there were quite a few Fusker Faithful willing to shell out the cash.

I would never pay $20 to watch a webcast. For that kinda $$ I want it on my 60" tv, not my 15" laptop.

jbhtexas · 08-12-2007, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by brianhos

Umm but the Iowa game is on tv? What do you accomplish by rescheduling someone else? Plus it is on the basic tier of most cable companies, it is on basic of Directv.

Drop Iowa and schedule a mid-level team in another conference, like SEC, PAC-10, ACC, or even another Big 10 team, so that the game will actually be watched by people outside of the state of Iowa (other than us alums outside of the state who watch the game). Rotate between teams to increase the exposure. I'd like to see a TCU game, as it would get ISU on TV one additional time in the DFW area. There's more folks living in the DFW metroplex than in the state of Iowa. Getting on cable or TV is just one part of the "exposure" picture. Once the game is on, people actually need to watch it for exposure to occur...

Which is one reason why the Big Ten network seems rather odd to me, at least from an exposure standpoint. The Big Ten is pulling games off of first-tier cable channels and moving them to possibly second (or worse) tier cable channels, or niche tiers. Casual sports fans who might otherwise come across a Big Ten game on one of the first tier channels and watch it, now are going to come across a Big 12 game, or some other conference. Good for us I guess. I guess the Big Ten execs see a big upside to their network.

Time for the Big 12 to take advantage. The teams need to play some competitve football and capture some fans outside the conference.

I checked Time Warner here locally, and as of yet, they haven't added BTN. A few years ago, one of the local independents was carrying a Big Ten FB/BB game of the week. It only lasted for one season, so I'm guessing the ratings were poor. Last year, they were carrying a high school game of the week, and it looks like that's back again this year. That's kind of funny...high school FB beats out the Big Ten...