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Big Ten Football should not cost you Big Time Bucks.
Time Warner Cable wants to bring you all the Ohio State football and basketball games you enjoyed last year. But the Big Ten Network has taken some of those games away from you and now wants to be paid for them.
What does Big Ten Network want?
The Big Ten Network has said it wants $1.10 per customer per month for cable companies to bring you Big Ten Network programming. At this rate, the Big Ten Network stands to make $237 million each year from cable customers in the Big Ten states alone. Outside the eight-state Big Ten region, Big Ten fans are being asked to pay far less for the same programming - only 10 cents per month per customer. That means an avid Ohio State fan who happens to live in Kentucky only pays $.10 per month while those of us living in Ohio are being asked to pay $1.10 per month. It’s just not fair.
The Big Ten Network wants to be carried as part of the Standard Package, which means every cable customer would have to pay its high asking price for this niche sports programming. Time Warner Cable would like to make it optional for those who do not wish to pay an extra fee for it.
How does the Big Ten Network’s asking price compare to other cable networks?
Other networks that focus exclusively on college sports, including those that provide far more games on a national basis, cost one-tenth the price. For more information on what other cable networks cost, see these articles:
USA TODAY
New spinoff ESPNU to get tardy start but has ambitious game plan
February 24, 2005
BusinessWeek
First And Ten For A TV Upstart
December 18, 2006
New York Times
Not Everyone Wants Channel That’s All Big Ten, All the Time
June 18, 2007
What programming will be offered on the
Big Ten Network?
The Big Ten Network has said it will carry:
- 35+ football games per season
- 105+ regular season men's basketball games
- 55+ regular season women’s basketball games
- Big Ten championship events
- Archived Big Ten events, including bowl games
- 170+ Olympic sporting events
- Coaches’ shows
- 660 hours of campus programming
The vast majority of OSU football games will remain on networks currently offered by Time Warner Cable, including ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. To date, only two OSU games will be carried on the Big Ten Network: OSU vs. Akron and OSU vs. Youngstown State.
For basketball fans, Big Ten Network has taken a number of OSU men’s basketball games off of free TV where they were available last year. In 2006, 15 games were carried on over-the-air television, and now Big Ten Network wants you to pay for them.
Should people who don’t want the Big Ten Network have to pay for it?
Time Warner Cable wants to offer the Big Ten Network at a fair price to customers who are interested in the channel, and make it optional for customers who do not wish to pay extra for it. By offering the Big Ten Network as a part of a separate sports package, only those who are interested can choose to pay for it without increasing the cost for everyone.
We are actively negotiating with the Big Ten Network and hope to reach an agreement that lets Time Warner Cable offer the channel to interested customers at a fair price. Please check back to this Web site for updates
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