Big Ten Network (BTN)

[OSU SPORTS]

Originally Posted by Oh8ch

Assuming TW and COMCAST don't cut a deal, has anyone heard anything about replays?

As a season ticket holder I don't have a dog in the fight till bball season. But I would like to replay the games.

Can you feel my pain?

There will be replays of the football games, but only on the BTN. All games are exclusive to the BTN and signed up providers.

[ytownbuckeye]

guess i'll have to leave the house and head to a local bar with a dish

[OSU SPORTS]

Originally Posted by OSU_Buckguy

what sucks is that the big ten network has so far dropped the ball with providing webcasts of the games. now that would be a moneymaker. they could charge a fair amount for a day or season pass. there is a lot of money there. it just goes to show how the big ten network was thrown together at the last second.

11th hour contracts and no webcasts. yeah, they have their stuff together.

one would think that webcasts (with a fee) would be rather easy to do.

That topic has been mentioned and might be offered on a limited basis. The problem involves the rights of those providers that have signed up to carry the BTN. They didn't want to lessen the exclusive nature of their contract. They don't want to devalue the providers that carry the BTN. If I can find that article, I'll post it for you. It was probably a month ago.

[OSU_Buckguy]

Originally Posted by OSU SPORTS

That topic has been mentioned and might be offered on a limited basis. The problem involves the rights of those providers that have signed up to carry the BTN. They didn't want to lessen the exclusive nature of their contract. They don't want to devalue the providers that carry the BTN. If I can find that article, I'll post it for you. It was probably a month ago.

i read something about it, too. i also remember reading that there simply wasn't enough of a response from prospective webcast viewers. regardless, it is still obvious that the btn doesn't have nearly enough accomplished going into the football season.

[Oh8ch]

guess i'll have to leave the house and head to a local bar with a dish

Best not let the wife see you with that dish.

[Ratboy18]

from : Big Ten Network
PROGRAMMING INFORMATION
The Big Ten Network will televise more than 400 live events during its first year, including 39 football games, 140 men's basketball games, and 24 classic football contests. Almost all of the network's programming will be available in high definition.

If the BTN is going to offer a total of 39 games this season and has already announced the 17 for weeks 1-3 (same link as above) - that leaves only the conference games -- will they (BTN) lock up 4 OSU and Michigan games just to prove a point?

Each Big Ten football team will make 3-6 appearances on the Big Ten Network this fall
Each football team is guaranteed to make at least two appearances on the network per year and one of them will be a conference game

Any predictions which conference game(s) will be chosen for OSU?



PS:
I called DirecTV to see what it would cost to only have service for September and October (from the angle that I am not happy with the DirecTV option and want to cancel after a few months) - depending on which operator you believe you have to buy out the contract for $12.50/month ... one operator said you could sign a 1-year and the other said the minimum was 2 years. Service is $45 and you get a LOAD of free stuff just for subscribing and both operators said that early termination wouldn't impact those (meaning you won't have to ultimately pay for your free gifts for cancelling).
My wife noticed me moping around and said that we would probably spend $150 if the family had to go to Buffalo Wild Wings for 3-4 games ... something to think about, especially if you prefer adult beverages.

[Ratboy18]

To add more info to the post above:

I don't need to wait for HD installation so they could install DirecTV before August 30. (Chicago Suburbs)

[BuckeyeRyn]

Originally Posted by Oh8ch

Best not let the wife see you with that dish.

No [censored], 'cause we all know the dish ran away with the spoon...

[suza271]

To break up the whining/bitching about whining a little bit...

I'm proud to annouce that I'm now a Directv subscriber. I've been hemming and hawing about it for awhile now, but when the operator dropped the price down pretty low for me, I just went with it.

For those of you hesitant because of price, here's what I got:

-Choice Extra Package (this includes everything you get on comcast digital cable and then some, including BTN).

-Showtime

-3 receivers (where you can watch ALL the channels you've subscribed to on extra TVs. With Comcast, you can only watch the channels above 100 if you have an extra box. Extra Boxes are almost $20ea.)

-Free Installation

-$50 Visa Gift Card

-No time limit on the price she guaranteed. So, it's this price for as long as I want to have Diretv.

This was all for $55.96 including tax. You can get it for cheaper than that if you have less receivers, don't get Showtime, or don't get Choice extra. Pretty good deal. I think I might call and try to cancel it tomorrow to see if they will offer me a better price, just to check.

AND, best of all...it's being installed Aug. 30 by 5pm. Just in time to watch the BTN launch. And, even though it probably depends on where you live, Aug. 30 was the first available day, so if you want to get it, you better get moving.

[matcar]

Originally Posted by suza271

To break up the whining/bitching about whining a little bit...

I'm proud to annouce that I'm now a Directv subscriber. I've been hemming and hawing about it for awhile now, but when the operator dropped the price down pretty low for me, I just went with it.

For those of you hesitant because of price, here's what I got:

-Choice Extra Package (this includes everything you get on comcast digital cable and then some, including BTN).

-Showtime

-3 receivers (where you can watch ALL the channels you've subscribed to. With Comcast, you can only watch the channels above 100 if you have an extra box. Extra Boxes are almost $20ea.)

-Free Installation

-$50 Visa Gift Card

-No time limit on the price she guaranteed. So, it's this price for as long as I want to have Diretv.

This was all for $55.96 including tax. You can get it for cheaper than that if you have less receivers, don't get Showtime, or don't get Choice extra. Pretty good deal. I think I might call and try to cancel it tomorrow to see if they will offer me a better price, just to check.

AND, best of all...it's being installed Aug. 30 by 5pm. Just in time to watch the BTN launch. And, even though it probably depends on where you live, Aug. 30 was the first available day, so if you want to get it, you better get moving.

Oh yeah, well I [censored]ing rule because I said seeya to DirecTV and said hello to Cumcast. If I'm gonna get [censored]ed by a provider, I'm at least gonna get a decent picture quality.

I'll not be watching BTN in my house any time soon, but the rest of the games I see will look considerably better. I haven't been this pleased with HDTV for several years. DirecTV sapped the HDTV life out of me.

BTN, we surely hope you manage to find your way onto the majority of the providers networks, but in the meantime, it WOULD be cool if you could webcast.

[blufftonbuck]

Good lord this thread is getting close to as bad as some of the old BN threads. Right now today you have few options if you want to see the YSU and Akron games in the comfort of your home....get Direct TV. If not then find a friend, go to a bar, listen to the radio, streamed audio online, or miss watching the games and track the game on the game thread right here on BP. It is really that simple. Eventually Time Warner, etc will get the channel just as they did with ESPNU.

We have Time Warner for cable, digital cable, HD, phone, internet and it is just not worth it to switch everything for 2 games (own opinion) now who knows during the basketball season. The thing is I have accepted it and moved on as many on this thread should do.

[BuckeyeTillIDie]

Why do people think DirecTV is so much more expensive than cable? For us, it is actually cheaper than what Time Warner costs now!

[osugrad21]

Link

Must not see TV

New network may have tough time showcasing elite teams

By Rusty Miller - The Associated Press

This should be a banner year for the Big Ten. The problem is, few may get a chance to see it.
The Big Ten's new television network is struggling to reach agreements with the biggest cable providers in the Midwest, and the clock is ticking on the Sept. 1 openers.
The sticking point is that the conference insists that it must be on basic expanded cable. Comcast and Time Warner say no way.
"When the cable company decides to send 70 channels - the food channel, and the dog channel and the bike channel and the jewelry channel - into your home, [we believe] that the Big Ten Network deserves to be in that grouping," Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said. "Everything else is pretty negotiable."
If the deals don't get done, be prepared for infomercials instead of Big Ten showdowns.



Cont...

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeTillIDie

Why do people think DirecTV is so much more expensive than cable? For us, it is actually cheaper than what Time Warner costs now!

For people who bundle their phone, internet and cable TV it's more expensive. It's been a while since I looked, but I though the comparable TV package (Channel wise) was around 59 bucks. That leaves about 40 bucks for me to play with to get a phone and internet. Not gonna happen.

[Oh8ch]

(Maybe this has already been discussed in this thread, but my search for News Corp came up empty, so here goes...)

2 + 2 finally came out to 4 this morning after reading the latest Dispatch article on the BTN fiasco. I never quite understood why Direct TV could cut a deal and nobody else seems even close.

Turns out that the parent company of Fox - 49% owner of the BTN - is News Corp. Controlling ownership of Direct TV also rests with News Corp. And News Corp is ultimately controlled by a man who goes by the name of Murdoch.

So, not only is Direct TV more or less just passing money around within the company by subscribing to BTN, but it is in News Corps best interest NOT to broker a deal with TW and other major players until after they have moved their more rabid fan base over to Direct TV.

I wouldn't look for BTN to start negotiating in earnest until after Direct TVs installers can get a day off. And they are only going to get busier come September 2nd when the fan base understands what it really means to get their only look at the this years version of the Buckeyes via a few clips on Sports Center. And there will be darn few clips of OSU - YSU even there.

I was also looking at the numbers for all of this. TW has 600,000 customers in Central Ohio. At $1.10 each per month that is just shy of 8 million dollars per year that the Big Ten wants for four football games and some number of basketball games JUST from the people of central Ohio.

Direct TV is the easy answer. I just don't know if I am willing to mortgage my sole to Rupert just yet. (Not that TW is the second coming of Mother Teresa.)