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Big Ten Network, Agree To Deal
June 19, 2008
St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
By Marcus R. Fuller
After a bitter dispute that kept cable television viewers from seeing numerous University of Minnesota sporting events last season, Comcast and the Big Ten Network announced a long-term agreement Thursday that ensures programming will be available starting with the 2008 college football season.
Starting Aug 15, the Big Ten Network initially will be part of Comcast's expanded basic level of service in the Big Ten Conference market area, including Minnesota. Next spring, Comcast can move the network to digital service in Big Ten market areas.
"The customer wins," said Mary Beth Schubert, Comcast vice president of corporate affairs. "The Gopher fans win."
Gophers athletics director Joel Maturi received countless e-mails and was still hearing recently from angered fans wondering whether they would get to watch the Gophers this football season.
"I appreciated their passion," Maturi said. "It's been a long haul for the Gopher fans and the Gopher family. It wasn't healthy for anyone, but it was a Big Ten challenge, not just a Minnesota challenge. The good news is that it's all behind us, at least with Comcast. Hopefully, this is added incentive for other cable carriers in Minnesota to follow."
Charter and Mediacom, which represent about 500,000 households combined in Minnesota, have not reached an agreement with the Big Ten Network. But Comcast, which is estimated to be carried in 550,000 homes in the Twin Cities and 5.8 million in the Midwest, paved the way by getting the fledgling network to shrink its initial asking price of $1.10 per subscriber within the eight-state Big Ten region to 70 cents per subscriber.
Comcast isn't required to carry the Big Ten Network outside the market areas and has the option of placing it only on a premium package, but both sides agreed this was the best solution.
"This agreement allows us to reach many more Big Ten fans with our programming because of the high concentration of Comcast subscribers in Big Ten states," Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said in a statement. "With the Comcast deal now in place, the Big Ten Network will be available to more than two-thirds of all homes in Big Ten country."
The deal couldn't have come at a better time for Gophers football coach Tim Brewster, who is expecting to make some strides this year after a dismal 1-11 season in 2007.
"It's an amazing deal for the Big Ten and for the University of Minnesota," he said. "All people across the state, if they can't make it to the game, have to be able to see us. The visibility it gives us across the country is just an unbelievable recruiting tool. It's something no other conference has."
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