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6/19/2008 6:20 PM
 
Re: Big 10 Network  (United States)
Comcast, Big Ten Network Reach Broad Multimedia Agreement For Big Ten Network Content
Courtesy: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
          Release: 06/19/2008

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Comcast customers to receive Big Ten Network HD, Big Ten Network high-speed Internet content through Comcast.net; and condensed game replays and other programs through Comcast On Demand

Philadelphia and Chicago – Comcast Corporation and the Big Ten Network announced today that they have reached a long-term multimedia agreement for Comcast to carry Big Ten Network programming across television, broadband and video-on-demand in time for the 2008 college football season.

Under the terms of the agreement, Comcast will initially launch the network as part of its expanded basic level of service to promote it to the majority of its customers residing in states with Big Ten universities (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) starting August 15th. (Comcast does not have systems in Iowa, the eighth Big Ten state.) In Spring 2009, Comcast may elect to move the network to a broadly distributed digital level of service in most of its systems in these states. Comcast’s digital customers in the Big Ten states will also have immediate access to live Big Ten games and events in high definition, Big Ten programming via Comcast’s video-on-demand platform, and a wide array of conference-related content through Comcast.net.

Outside of the Big Ten states that Comcast serves, Comcast has the option to provide Big Ten Network programming on any level of service, including its Sports Entertainment Package.

Officials from Comcast and Big Ten Network said they look forward to utilizing both traditional and emerging media to bring more Big Ten programming to fans than was ever available to them before.

“We are very pleased with the agreement we have reached with the Big Ten Network to carry hundreds of live Big Ten events,” said Madison Bond, Executive Vice President, Content Acquisition, Comcast Cable. “We will be providing our customers with Big Ten programming through our signature video-on-demand service, and will have lots of highlights, replays, scores and more through Comcast.net so fans can keep pace with Big Ten action whenever they want to.”

Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said the network is thrilled to have Comcast as a distribution partner. “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. 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.”

Big Ten Network already produces more high-definition television content than any new sports network in television history. Over the next year, more than 400 live Big Ten sporting events will be carried by the Big Ten Network in high definition, including football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball and soccer, as well as other NCAA-sponsored sports.

Comcast’s digital customers who receive the network will have On Demand access to programming such as weekly extended highlights and condensed game replays from around the conference, classic Big Ten sporting events, bowl game coverage and coaches’ shows, plus original campus programming and nightly studio shows from Big Ten Network, most of which is available in high definition.

Comcast also has the ability to deliver much of that same content to its Comcast High Speed Internet customers via the company’s Comcast.net portal. Additionally, Comcast has the rights to carry certain network content on Fancast.com.

Gene Smith, Ohio State director of athletics
Statement on the Comcast Corporation agreement with the Big Ten Network.
“We are delighted Comcast is the latest entity to carry Big Ten Network programming,” Smith said. “We feel hopeful this development will lead to better negotiations with Time Warner Cable. The partnership with Comcast demonstrates the Big Ten is flexible in trying to provide our fans with high quality programming from the 11 campuses.”

About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (http://www.comcast.com) is the nation's leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services. With 24.7 million cable customers, 14.1 million high-speed Internet customers, and 5.2 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, ten Comcast SportsNet networks and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet business. Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

About the Big Ten Network
The Big Ten Network is dedicated to covering the Big Ten Conference and its 11 member institutions. The Big Ten Network provides unprecedented access to an extensive schedule of conference sports events and shows; original programs in academics, the arts and sciences; campus activities; and associated personalities. Sports programming includes live coverage of more major men's and women's events than ever before, along with news, highlights and analysis, all complemented by hours of university-produced campus programming. The network is available to all cable and satellite carriers and television distributors nationwide, with most programs offered in stunning high-definition television (HDTV). The Big Ten Network is a joint venture between subsidiaries of the Big Ten Conference and Fox Cable Networks.

http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1481874

 
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6/20/2008 10:12 AM
 
Re: Big 10 Network  (United States)
Big Ten Network: Comcast deal won't have much effect in Ohio
Friday,  June 20, 2008 2:53 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The Big Ten Network and Comcast, the nation's largest cable provider, yesterday announced a long-term multimedia agreement for Comcast to carry Big Ten Network programming across television, broadband and video-on-demand starting with the 2008 college football season.

The deal calls for the network to appear on Comcast's expanded basic cable at no additional cost to subscribers during the upcoming football and basketball seasons but will give Comcast the right to move the network to its higher-priced digital cable service next year.

Comcast has agreed to pay about 70 cents per subscriber to the Big Ten, which had sought $1.10. It's the first major cable operator to agree to carry the network.

Even with the deal, only 40 percent of Ohio households with cable and satellite service will have access to the Big Ten Network, compared with 89, 83 and 79 percent in the respective neighboring states of Indiana, Pennsylvania and Michigan, according to the network.

The agreement leaves Time Warner, central Ohio's market leader, as the nation's largest cable provider without an agreement with the Big Ten Network. Time Warner spokeswoman Judy Barbao said the company "had some good talks this spring" with the network and is looking forward to more talks this summer.

"We're hoping to get a deal done before football season," Barbao said.

The network is available on central Ohio's two other cable providers, Insight and Wide Open West; AT&T U-verse, which is transmitted over phone lines; and DirecTV and Dish satellite services.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2008/06/20/big_ten_network20.ART_ART_06-20-08_C3_6VAHSH4.html?sid=101
 
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7/3/2008 9:59 AM
 
Re: Big 10 Network  (United States)
OSU football: Three games picked up by Big Ten Network
Youngstown State, Troy games will air there, plus a league game
Thursday,  July 3, 2008 3:25 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Ohio State football fans who don't get the Big Ten Network on their cable television system might miss only three games this season, rather than the four they missed in 2007.

The network announced yesterday that it will broadcast the Buckeyes' games against Youngstown State on Aug. 30 and Troy on Sept. 20. Both are noon kickoffs.

One of Ohio State's Big Ten conference games will be on the Big Ten Network, as well. The agreement between the conference and network guarantees each team one conference game on the network. That will be decided later, either six or 12 days before the game.

But that's probably it, because the Buckeyes' other two nonconference games have been spoken for.

The Big Ten announced yesterday that the Sept. 6 game against Ohio University will be at noon on ESPN or ESPN2.

It was previously announced that a game Sept. 13 at Southern California will be nationally televised at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Last season, four Ohio State games were on the Big Ten Network: Youngstown State, Akron, Kent State and Wisconsin.

The Big Ten Network was launched in August 2007 and still is not available to about 60 percent of Ohio households that have cable or satellite service.

It remains unavailable on Time Warner, central Ohio's largest provider. Area residents with Insight or Wide Open West cable service have the network, as well as subscribers to AT&T U-Verse and satellite providers DirecTV and Dish.

In June, the Big Ten Network reached agreement with Comcast, which doubled the network's number of subscribers in the eight-state conference region.

Network spokeswoman Elizabeth Conlisk said Ohio and Wisconsin, which also is dominated by Time Warner, remain the states with the least network access.

"We're in conversations with Time Warner and we're hopeful," Conlisk said. "The mere fact (of the Comcast agreement) is helpful."

Two other Ohio State start times were previously announced: at Wisconsin on Oct. 4 and against Penn State on Oct. 25 will be 8 p.m. kickoffs.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2008/07/03/osu_fb03.ART_ART_07-03-08_C2_NJALBEV.html?sid=101

 
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8/9/2008 1:02 PM
 
Re: Big 10 Network  (United States)
Big Ten Network
TV talks continue, but time almost up
Saturday,  August 9, 2008 3:12 AM
The Columbus Dispatch
Still huddling with time running out.

That's the status of talks between Time Warner Cable and the year-old Big Ten Network as Ohio State's season opener in football approaches.

Negotiators for the dominant cable provider in central Ohio and the network continue to meet to avoid a repeat of last season, when many fans had no access to four OSU games broadcast by the network.

Time Warner spokeswoman Judy Barbao said the plan is to strike a deal before Aug. 30, when the Buckeyes play host to Youngstown State on the Big Ten Network.

The president of the Big Ten Network, though, is worried that time is slipping away.

"We're definitely concerned that the pace of negotiations isn't moving quickly enough," Mark Silverman told The Dispatch. "We've had some preliminary talks with Time Warner, but we hope they will become more substantive quickly. There's still time, but we're a long way apart, and we've got a lot of ground to cover."

The stakes rose yesterday when it was learned that Ohio State's Big Ten opener -- Sept. 27 against Minnesota -- is likely to be shown on the Big Ten Network. That would place three of the Buckeyes' first five games -- Youngstown State, Troy (Sept. 20) and Minnesota -- on the Big Ten Network.

The network is likely to pick up a second conference game.

Silverman wouldn't specify any sticking points between the sides. "It's not one area -- we're significantly apart," he said.

In June, the Big Ten Network reached a deal with Philadelphia-based Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, to carry its programming on expanded basic cable in states with Big Ten schools. Comcast will pay the network about 70 cents per customer. Starting next spring, Comcast has the option of moving the network to a digital level of service in markets where most customers already subscribe to digital.

The deal -- which gave the Big Ten the basic-cable exposure it wanted while giving Comcast flexibility to shift the network to higher-priced services -- could provide a framework for Time Warner, the nation's second-largest provider.

It serves about 40 percent of central Ohio households.

"The fact that the Big Ten Network was able to reach an agreement with Comcast was encouraging," Barbao said. "We are committed to doing what we can to get a deal done."

Even with Comcast on board, less than half of Ohio households with cable and satellite service will have access to the Big Ten Network, compared with 89 percent in Indiana, 83 percent in Pennsylvania and 79 percent in Michigan, according to the network.

The network is available on central Ohio's two other cable providers, Insight and Wide Open West; AT&T U-verse, which is transmitted over phone lines; and DirecTV and Dish satellite services.


[email protected]


 
New Post
8/26/2008 10:13 AM
 
Re: Big 10 Network  (United States)
College football
Time Warner Cable, Big Ten Network reach deal
Tuesday,  August 26, 2008 3:16 AM
The Columbus Dispatch
Chalk up a victory for Buckeye fans in a struggle between two national powers.

Late last night, Time Warner Cable and the Big Ten Network reached a deal allowing the country's second-largest cable company to carry the year-old network's programming.

That means Ohio State football fans who subscribe to Time Warner will be able to watch the team's season opener Saturday against Youngstown State -- and subsequent games carried by the network -- from the comfort of home.

The agreement ends a yearlong stalemate between the dominant cable company in central Ohio and BTN, which is to broadcast three of the first five OSU games this season, including the Sept. 27 Big Ten opener against Minnesota.

Terms of the agreement were not immediately available, but Time Warner and network officials issued the following joint statement last night:

"Time Warner Cable and the Big Ten Network announced that they have reached an agreement-in-principle on terms of carriage for the Big Ten Network and its high-definition and video-on-demand programming on Time Warner Cable's lineups throughout the Big Ten territory, including Ohio and Wisconsin.

"The pending agreement will ensure that Time Warner Cable's customers across these Big Ten states will have access to this Saturday's Big Ten college-football season openers and all future Big Ten Network programming on an expanded basic level of service."

In an e-mail last night, Time Warner spokeswoman Judy Barbao said: "We worked hard to ensure an agreement that was in the best interest of our customers, and we believe it's a fair deal."

BTN spokeswoman Elizabeth Conlisk said the deal gives both sides enough time to prepare for the weekend. "It will take effect in time for everyone to catch the Big Ten action Saturday," she said.

The channel location and other details are expected to be available today. With negotiations dragging on, the two sides appeared headed nowhere in recent days as the season neared.

Last week, OSU Athletics Director Gene Smith urged fans and alumni to consider switching from Time Warner to another provider offering the Big Ten Network.

Time Warner Cable cried foul, accusing him of taking sides and of falsely claiming that the company didn't want to carry the network.

Before the agreement, about 70 percent of homes in Big Ten states had access to BTN, compared with about 40 percent in Ohio.

In central Ohio, the network also is available on cable providers Insight and Wide Open West; AT&T U-verse, which is transmitted over phone lines; and DirecTV and Dish satellite services.

South Side resident Jim Maley, a lifelong Buckeye fan and years-long Time Warner subscriber, was pleased to hear about the deal but said he would have survived without it.

Maley, 53, said he thought the cable company had made fair-enough offers and the Big Ten Network "was holding them hostage."

"I think Time Warner was doing the best it could for those who wanted the Big Ten Network."

Had an agreement eluded the two parties, Maley said, he had a fallback plan for the Buckeye games.

"I probably would have listened to them on the radio, like I did last year -- like the old days."

[email protected]

[email protected]

 
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