Unsolicited Praise for the Big Ten Network

by Ethan Johnson
October 18, 2007

Like the title of this article says, the following is an unsolicited testimonial for the Big Ten Network. I was not paid for this, I was not commissioned in any way to write this, and I have zero affiliation with the Big Ten Network other than to disclose that my parents are Michigan State alums, although that doesn't exactly affiliate them with the network either. Are we properly disclaimed and disclosed? Good.

When I heard that the Big Ten [athletic conference] was starting its own TV network, I wondered if there was really any need. Considering the sheer volume of sports programming on US television presently, is there really room for more? Not just room... an audience? After a few weeks/months of viewing, I can state with confidence, yes, yes, ohhhh God, yes.

My mother likes to say that air conditioning "opened up the South." It certainly made it more tolerable from a climate standpoint, relative to the much chillier North. I do declare that the Big Ten Network has opened up the, uh, Big Ten. Here's what I have been enjoying:

  • Men's and women's soccer. The Michigan State men clobbered Michigan recently 5-0 in the rain and mud. The Ohio State women clobbered Michigan State 3-0 in the sun. A few scant weeks ago, I had never heard of Lara Dickenmann. She is Ohio State's heavily recruited phenom out of Switzerland. Having seen her file footage, and her contribution to the OSU/MSU game, I am wondering if OSU is going to play in the College Cup in December in - wait for it - Texas. I made a point of watching the Swiss mens national team play the US national men's team to get a feel for how Dickenmann's approach to the game measures up to her countrymen. Mmm, she might be better than some, actually. Hard to say since the game was a "friendly". Anyway, if you can see OSU women's soccer, do so. I can even say that as the child of MSU alums.
  • Women's volleyball. Actually, thanks to watching some random Big Ten volleyball game, I found out about #1 Nebraska. How #1 are they, you ask? The announcer annointed them the "greatest team ever to play the sport." I tuned in to another network to see Nebraska destroy Kansas State. I tuned in again to see them face their toughest challenge in Iowa State, which lasted for one game. (Iowa State's coach is a former Nebraska player.) Then it's like flipping a switch. As of that Iowa State game, Nebraska was not only undefeated for the season, but no team had ever beaten them in a single game. (Volleyball matches are claimed by the best 3 out of 5 games.) Iowa State came close to actually stealing a game from them, but they lost 3-0, and thus the match. Holy crap. Anyway, Big Ten games are good too, but they're not Nebraska.
  • Football! Actually, a side effect of my soccer mania - and yes, this is blasphemy - is a growing disinterest in what soccer freaks call "pointy ball". BUT, I'm not completely off the reservation, and it's nice to see teams like Northwestern (CJ Bacher is amazing) and Wisconsin when they're shunted off of ESPN. Beats paying for ESPN GamePlan, which sucks turkey stuffing.
  • Coming soon: Basketball. Hell to the yeah. Michigan Shtate - YESH!

Oh, and all of the above is in HD where available. Sheesh, field hockey is in HD. Doubt me when I say that HD makes anything exciting to watch? Whatever it is, if it's in HD, I'll watch it. I didn't know that field hockey was a strange blend of hockey and soccer. I guess it was better than calling it Hocker. Sockey...?

The Big Ten Network is locked in mortal combat with Comcast up north (I assume everywhere, really) over subscriber fees. Meh, they need to work this stuff out. Why not stick it in the sports bolt-on package, assuming there is one? BTN wants to be part of "basic" cable, but rather than nitpick I'd imagine that if the channel was available some other way that satisfied both parties there would be parades, peace in the Middle East, and lions laying with lambs.

At least until the Pac-10 decides to launch their own TV network.

The counter-argument to adding BTN to the lineup is that its full of "third tier" games/sports. Oh, OK. Show me that network that shows Ohio State women's soccer games, or #8 Purdue. How about #10 Penn State? What network is showing hours of live women's volleyball games? What network is consistently showing Northwestern and Michigan State football games?

On the surface, the TV sports landscape seems to be bursting at the seams as it is. However, the introduction of BTN into the channel lineup at DirecTV has allowed me to appreciate more collegiate sports, and observe how the other networks do or do not promote or distribute college athletics outside of football and basketball. In a nutshell, poorly. And that's just on the mens side. The Big Ten Network may be the new model for collegiate athletics to be presented to a national audience in ways that give prospective students and parents a more complete view of the schools. I can imagine that other athletic conferences are keeping a keen eye on this network and planning accordingly.

Anyway, just had to share. Check your local listings. <EM>

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Conference networks
Submitted by R. Alex (not verified) on Thu, 2007-10-18 22:01.

Agreed!

I'm not a big Big Ten fan, but I think that conference networks are ingenious. When people think of college sports they think of football, basketball, and maybe women's basketball and baseball, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Though I don't expect it to happen soon (or ever), I'd love for a Conference USA network so that I could watch the other sports and see more basketball games. On second thought, given my time crunch maybe it would be better if it never happened.

When I was in Idaho, Idaho State University games almost never got on to television, but they went to the trouble of filming the games for later review and they were on the radio. Someone game up with the great idea of putting all of the football games on the web and running the radio announcing over it. If it can work for Idaho State, I'd imagine that just about anybody could do it. The bigger conferences having their own network, the smaller ones on the web.

We're reaching the point where there's no reason to have to miss any sporting event, even if you live hundreds of miles away.

Cable network mortal combat
Submitted by Bob (not verified) on Sat, 2007-10-20 05:25.

I'm in Michigan, just outside Ann Arbor, having moved north from Richardson a couple of years ago. The cable issue is slightly more complex than "does it go in the basic package" - it's "does it go in the basic package and every subscriber's bill go up $2 (or so) a month?" I've got the sports tier on my cable box, and probably would be willing to take the hit there for access to more sporting events than just football and basketball, but I think it's unreasonable for the universities to insist that everybody that gets cable should have their bills raised involuntarily (not that the cable cos. don't do that enough already).

Besides, having the dispute is helping the economy through increased liquor and food sales at sports bars that have satellite coverage... (lots of "We have Big Ten Network" signs on the sidewalks every Saturday.)

Good points
Submitted by ethan on Sat, 2007-10-20 12:14.

Bob, thanks for weighing in with the midwestern perspective. I'm pretty spoiled "just" having BTN on DirecTV. I saw where BTN is trying to charge specifically for midwestern viewers, but I'm not sure why dish networks get a free pass over cable. I'd imagine the national exposure is paying off big time, subscriber fees aside.

Alex, I think CSTV is trying to be the de facto network for either the Big 12 or some other conference. (Seems to be a mix, actually.) ESPN U seems to squeeze in whatever they deem worth the calories (I suspect they're the drip pan for "real" ESPN). In this day and age, especially with satellite networks, it has to be a matter of time before the various collegiate conferences each have their own channel. Can high schools be far behind?