Five Days…
August 25, 2008The 5-Hole, CBJ News and Notes- 8/26/08
August 26, 2008From Reuters:
The Big Ten Network and Time Warner Cable have reached an agreement for the channel to be carried on TWC lineups in the eight states in which the college athletic conference schools operate.
The agreement in principle, announced Monday, follows the year-old channel’s distribution deal with Comcast, which was inked in June. It will ensure that TWC’s customers in those states, mostly in the Midwest, will have access to Saturday’s Big Ten college football season openers and all future Big Ten programming on an expanded basic level of service, the network said.
This is huge news for fans of the Big Ten. Those that wanted to catch this week’s opener, but couldn’t due to the BTN, will now be able to watch the Buckeyes absolutely destroy Youngstown State.
And while I have the NFL Network (in HD, mind you) at my home, I know that those with Time Warner Cable are still on the outside when it comes to their programming. This corporate battle has gone on a little bit longer than that of the Big Ten Network, but if anything, this shows that it can be done. And this also leads me to believe that the bigger “pain” in this mess is in fact the NFL given that TWC was able to agree to terms with the Big Ten.
Given the fact that the Browns lock up with the Broncos on November 6th, broadcasted on the NFLN, let’s hope some sort of agreement happens by then. Will the NFL just give in? Not likely, given recent history. However, this BTN/TWC move does give us a ray of hope. If not, can we bank on NBC being the hero?
17 Comments
My only beef–as a TW subscriber–is that I suspect it’s going to be reflected in my cable rates. One or two football games in the fall is not worth a raise in my monthly rates… for EITHER network. And, since I have season tix for the Browns, I should have no problem checking out the Browns/Broncs tilt
🙂
I’m also a TW subscriber, and I’m not thrilled about this deal. I mean, I’m happy to have BTN, but the terms of this deal make me uneasy. Like DP, I also do not want to see my rates go up because of this.
DP – just bundle it with your internet and phone. You won’t notice a thing! 🙂
agree with the above
I finally moved to a place where I can get dish or direcTV and the damn building I live in blocks the signal from the satellite due to the direction its facing. So I’m stuck with TWC again.
I think the big dispute was over weather it would be added as part of regular service, or offered as part of a separate sports package. I’m not sure what “extended basic” means, but I would imagine TWC is going to pass the cost along to us, which sucks.
When I had TWC, Extended Basic was just the digital package that came with channels like ESPNews, etc. I believe it’ll just be included into that, I haven’t seen any mention of pricing. I guess only TW would know for sure…
TWC getting the BTN before NFLN is surprising. You would’ve thought it would be the other way around. There are HUGE games folks are missing out on that are only seen on the NFLN.
Of course, all of this drama doesn’t bother me as I can relax knowing DirecTV would never hesitate to sign up a new sports channel.
I for one am excited, as I will be able to watch Saturday’s game from home instead of inviting myself to a friend’s house!
if you all are that hard up for cash to worry about 2 bucks a month, maybe you should consider not having cable in the first place.
As a Browns fan who married a Colts fan, I had to succumb to the DirecTV thing for the Sunday ticket anyway. That being said, this is just another way in which the broken cable system shows it’s ugly behind.
Think about all the hours of video streaming across that cable everyday that you have absolutely zero interest in watching. And then consider that your rates will actually go up because they decided to start streaming one of the only things that you care about. It is infuriating. How about just letting me trade Big Ten Network for Game Show Network, Home Shopping Network, Country Music Television, VH1 2, and MTV Spanish Language Edition?
Stop making me pay for things I don’t care about. Plus, if you found a way to stop wasting bandwidth giving me channels I don’t care about, I could probably get a whole lot more worthwhile programming in HD sooner rather than later.
I volunteered to be President of NBC yesterday. I am also making myself available to be President of Time Warner Cable as of today. Still waiting for the phone to ring.
Of course Buckeyes living outside of the Big Ten network, say in NC, are still up the creek.
If I have to watch one more NC State, Duke or UNC football game, I’m going to loose it. The quality of their games are at about the same level as Ohio HS football, the local TV feed is fuzzy, and the graphics are circa 1992.
Plus, as an added insult, they talk of Butch Davis like he’s the second coming.
Sorry for the brief tangent, just had to get that off my chest.
dan, I hate that line of argument. Whether or not we can afford the extra two bucks a month should be our decision, not TWC’s. Maybe we want to spend that extra two bucks a month buying rare, and powerful Magic The Gathering cards and protective sleeves to hold them in. That should be our decision. Just because we want to appropriate our disposable income how we choose doesn’t mean we are cheapskates who have cash flow problems.
wow, you would have thought that everybody would be a little happier about this, chances are there will be a rate increase for twc people but it is not different that those with direct tv or dish, i have had all three it is all the same story and it wont change until people stop worshipping tv
Agreed, Craig. For me, $24 a year is another round of golf, as opposed to the two games I *might* watch on BTN. But, it should be my choice as for what I spend that $24 on.
And, I don’t have a home phone, and I’m not getting one just to even out the cost of the BTN. 🙂
TWC is awful, just awful. Their customer service is a joke and they change your billing rate constantly. I am just anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new cable carrier in my area so I can dump TWC asap.
As for the Browns Thursday night game….it will be televised locally on either 3,5 or 8. They have to televise it on basic TV since it is a Cleveland game
I am from the Youngstown area, and have to say…WHO CARES?!?!? IT’S YSU FOR GOD’S SAKE!!!!
There will be a big ten game on the BTN this year…
@MacNip: Just be grateful that they have cable in your “area” 🙂