Watching the Big Ten Network Crash and Burn

Seems the Big Ten is joining the NFL in learning that there are limits to how far you can push your premiere product to drive revenue. The NFL Network is still struggling for placement on cable systems, as cable providers resist paying over $8 a year for each subscriber. Now, the Big Ten conference is now adding the University of Hard Knocks as cable companies thumb their noses at their new TV network. The lack of progress in getting the Big Ten Network on cable systems have led Weasel fans to turn to Congress to look into the situation.

Seems the Big 10 has an even grander view of themselves than the NFL, as the Big Ten Network intends to charge cable companies (and therefore, you) $1.10 a month if you live in Big Ten territory. That's over $13 a year. And like the NFL, they insist that this be on basic cable so that all customers have to pay, not just sports fans. Big Ten commissioner explains their position:

"Millions of Big Ten fans who already pay their basic cable bill would expect this to be included. If they choose to put it on a sports tier -- I call that a tax."

Oh, and where will the cable company get the $13 annual fee for each subscriber? Simple...raise rates. That's your tax right there.

I have no doubt that eventually the Big Ten Network can eventually be a success...but not with this business model. Battling with cable companies only means fans are losers. In the end, networks like the Big Ten's will struggle until cable companies find a way to increase capacity and go to ala-carte models to allow you to pick and choose your programming choices. Personally, I'd gladly trade off Lifetime, MTV, and Faux News for the NFL Network. But right now my cable company doesn't give me that option...and I don't see it happening anytime soon.

In the meantime...sports fans are the losers in this war.

The Future of TV Sports

K-State Sports & Beyond reports today that Big XII commissioner Keven Weiberg is quitting to join the Big 10 TV Network. Interesting move for both Weiberg and the Bigger 10 with all the recent changes to Big XII TV contracts as of late. In a radio interview today on KOZN-AM, Lee Barfknect talked about Weiberg's vision for individual school TV networks possibly being part of the reason why he's joining the Big Ten.

The more I think about it, we are on the cusp of another revolution in television and broadcasting. The number of specialty networks is exploding, with the NBA and NFL each having their own networks, and Major League Baseball planning to launch their own network. There's a Golf Channel and a Tennis Channel. Everywhere you turn around, somebody seems to be creating their own network. Meanwhile, cable networks are constrained in terms of capacity, especially as more and more networks go high definition. Even the Food Network is going HD!

Meanwhile, Congress is once again discussing options for ala-carte programming, allowing you to pick-and-choose what networks you pay for. How is this going to work out? I think you are going to see a convergence between television and the internet. A lot of people are all geeked up over the Apple Phone, but in my mind, the Apple Phone pales in comparision to Apple TV. Apple is already in discussion with major movie studios about renting videos through iTunes, which will make watching movies even easier than Netflix.

Take this to the next level - subscriptions like Netflix. Right now, Netflix bears the expense of mailing DVD's to your house. If you choose a popular title, sometimes you have to wait for your turn to get a copy of a new release. The iTunes model eliminates the physical inventory. Heck, you'll even be able to pre-order the movie, and on the day it's released, it'll automatically download to your TV.

What the heck does this have to do with sports? If you're a Husker fan anywhere in the country, you can order DVD's of football games to be delivered to your home days after each game. Imagine subscribing to the Husker network and getting these same games automatically fed to your TV via the internet. Already today you can watch baseball and volleyball games on your computer...it's not a large leap to use a device like this to get them on your TV.

In a few years, wondering whether your cable company carries Versus is going to be a moot point. You'll just point your TV towards Versus.com and wonder what all the fuss was about in the past...

Big XII Football joins the NHL on Versus

When news of TBS dropping Big XII football games broke, there was talk about FSN sublicensing these games to Versus, home of the NHL, rodeo, and the Tour de France. Fortunately, a deal with ESPN and ESPN2 was worked out, which represents an upgrade. (I still don't like the 8pm kickoffs though...)

Now comes word that Versus is back into the mix, with FSN now sublicensing Big XII and Pac-10 college football games to Versus. Good deal or not? I think it depends on whether these games represent additional TV games or if they are games that are currently televised by FSN at 11:30 am. Problem is, the word isn't particularly clear. The Des Moines Register reported today that the Iowa @ Iowa State game is the first game to be televised by Versus.

If these games are in addition to the 11:30 am games on FSN, this is a good deal if only because they are games that would otherwise not be televised or televised on pay-per-view. However, if this a replacement for 11:30 am FSN games, this is a horrible deal for the Big XII. Versus has limited distribution nationwide, frequently relegated to digital cable or sports packages. This has been an issue for the NHL, which has seen it's nationwide visibility drop after they switched from ESPN to Versus. The broadcasts themselves are fine, with decent graphics and better announcers than FSN seems to scrape together. But the limited availability of Versus is an issue. (Not to me; my cable company carries Versus...but I sympathize with those folks who don't have Versus, such as Omaha's crappy, overpriced Cox Cable...)

I can already hear the uproar when the first Nebraska game is televised by Versus, and people scramble to try to figure out where it is on their cable system, if it's even there. (Hint...it used to be called "OLN: Outdoor Life Network"...) Remember the fuss when a Nebraska/Kansas State game was moved to FX? This could be even louder...

ESPN to carry 4 or 5 Big XII games in 2007

The rumored deal for ESPN to televise some of the Big XII football games previously carried by TBS was confirmed and announced today. Here are the dates and the games for those dates, with my guesses as to who will televise:

September 15th: Florida State @ Colorado (confirmed)

October 6th: Oklahoma vs. Texas (certainly on ABC), Nebraska @ Missouri (ABC or ESPN), Oklahoma State @ Texas A&M (ESPN or FSN), Kansas @ Kansas State (FSN?), Colorado @ Baylor, Iowa State @ Texas Tech.

October 13th: (ESPN option to carry a game) Missouri @ Oklahoma (likely ABC), Oklahoma State @ Nebraska (ABC or ESPN/FSN), Texas A&M @ Texas Tech (ABC or ESPN/FSN), Texas @ Iowa State (FSN?), Colorado @ Kansas State, Baylor @ Kansas

October 20th: Texas A&M @ Nebraska (likely ABC), Texas Tech @ Missouri (ABC or ESPN/FSN), Kansas State @ Oklahoma State (FSN?), Texas @ Baylor (FSN?), Oklahoma @ Iowa State, Kansas @ Colorado

November 3rd: Texas A&M @ Oklahoma (ABC or ESPN), Texas @ Oklahoma State (ABC or ESPN), Nebraska @ Kansas (FSN?), Missouri @ Colorado (FSN?), Texas Tech @ Baylor (FSN?), Kansas State @ Iowa State

ESPN can place these games on either ESPN or ESPN2...not sure if it's a big deal; either is better than FSN.

I think Missouri vs. Nebraska has a great chance to be an ABC prime time game, as Texas/Oklahoma is a lock for an afternoon ABC telecast since they don't want to play a night game at the Cotton Bowl. If ESPN chooses to carry a Big XII game on October 13th, I think they'll take the Huskers vs. the Cowboys. If the Huskers don't get on ESPN the first couple of weeks of October, no Husker games could end up on ESPN or ESPN2.

Update: Most of these games will end up with 8 pm kickoffs, according to today's World-Herald. That's going to be an issue for Husker fans who have to drive long distances, as games won't conclude until nearly midnight. Good for TV, bad for ticketholders...

ESPN to replace TBS for Big XII TV games?

Today's San Antonio Express reports that Fox is negotiating with ESPN to carry the 6 Big XII footbal games that used to be carried by TBS. Good news? Very likely...depending on the time and network the games appear on. ESPN already has a rather full schedule of college football with Big Televen, ACC, Big East, and SEC games on at various times during the day. In recent years, ESPN2 has carried SEC games with 9 pm kickoffs locally. While folks at home wouldn't necessarily mind a late kickoff for TV, fans who have to drive hours to return home may have different opinions. (Especially when you consider the lack of hotel rooms on football Saturdays in Lincoln...)

Also, no word on which of the ESPN networks these games would end up on. ESPN? Great! ESPN2? Still better than FSN. ESPN-U? Uh, oh. Heck, these games might end up getting bumped all the way to the Ocho.

If this contract happens, look for games to get squeezed into the existing ESPN schedule, mostly on afternoons and evenings. If that happens and the games end up on ESPN and ESPN2, it's an improvement over TBS and FSN. The Fox TV network would have been even better, but apparantly ABC has the exclusive rights to broadcast coverage of Big XII football, meaning that these games must remain on cable TV.

If ESPN does pick up the games, hopefully they'll assign Ron Franklin to all Big XII football games like they assign him to Big XII basketball. Franklin and CBS' Verne Lundquist are the two best college football announcers around for my money.

The same reporter from the San Antonio Express-News took a shot last week at Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman for calling Thursday night games a "disaster". From a pure fan and University standpoint, Perlman's position was reasonable. When NU-Rice had to be moved after 9/11, it forced classes to be cancelled and was certainly inconvenient for fans. In the grand scheme of things, cancelling classes one evening pales to the event that caused the game to be rescheduled in the first place. Chalk up yet another PR gaffe for the Pederson/Perlman cabal.

TBS Dumps Big XII Football

Quietly, TBS has discontinued their coverage of college football, leaving FSN as the sole rights-holder to Big XII games on cable. Previously, FSN subleased rights to TBS, with one network taking a Pac-10 game and the other getting a Big XII game each week.

Big deal? In terms of the future of the Big XII, yes it is. Accordng to the San Antonio Express-News, Big XII games could end up being on FSN or possibly the NFL Network ... which is potentially bad news in terms of exposure. FSN games frequently are pre-empted in some markets nationwide for local coverage of baseball, basketball, or hockey. The NFL Network is still struggling to be added to cable systems nationwide, usually being relegated to digital cable. The $8.40 they charge cable companies each year doesn't help either.

Other ideas that have been considered were a Saturday Night Football package on the Fox broadcast network, as well as other cable channels, such as Versus. The Fox package sounds intriguing if it could somehow get pulled off; certainly would be more compelling than "America's Most Wanted" or "Cops".

But short of a Fox nationwide broadcast, the cable options are very unappetizing. TBS is one of the most popular cable channels nationwide, and certainly more than any of the alternatives being discussed. What's worse is that the Big XII is committed to the FSN deal for another 5 years. So while the Big XII will get the money, teams won't get the exposure.

A lot of people would like to point towards ESPN as a solution, but ESPN's schedule is already packed with comittments to carry Big 10/11, SEC, ACC, Big East, and now Pac-10 games.

The Big XII conference seems to have the worst TV deal of any of the major conferences. Notre Dame and the SEC have exclusive deals with NBC and CBS that guarentees them national coverage. The other BCS conferences have deals with ABC and ESPN that give them regional coverage on ABC and nationwide coverage on an ESPN network. The Big XII deal only gives them regional coverage on ABC and coverage to "most of the US" on the FSN regional networks.

Will inferior coverage hurt the Big XII in the future? It's a very real possibility, as the ESPN hype machine may not pay as much attention to Big XII games since they don't have the rights to them. That lesser coverage could impact the decisions of not only recruits, but also the commitment of schools such as Colorado and Tejas, as they might find it lucrative to change conferences in the future in search of better TV deals. Remember, the Big XII was formed as the bigger schools in the Southwest Conference (and likewise the old Big 8) were looking for a better platform to market their programs.

Moving Big XII football games off of TBS to inferior, lesser cable networks such as FSN has the effect of marginalizing the conference and their teams.