Big Ten Network (BTN)

[Mike80]

I was at the Wisconsin game. The BTN TV official was located on the south side of the Buckeye sideline. I was in the south stands and had a great view of him holding up play until the BTN was ready to go. I'm not sure what the issue was. Must have been some mis-communication with the truck or something.

They have that in every game. The problem with the missing plays was on the DirecTV side of the house.....

As far as the picture quality of the BTN, I am very impressed by what I have seen. I have DirecTV and watch the games in HD. IMO, it looks far better than ESPN/ABC and NBC. CBS and FSN come close, but I do believe that tBTN looks the best.

early on, the BTN didn't have the sound quality of the others, but that's to be expected of a new network. Now things are good to go it seems.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

I was at the Wisconsin game. The BTN TV official was located on the south side of the Buckeye sideline. I was in the south stands and had a great view of him holding up play until the BTN was ready to go. I'm not sure what the issue was. Must have been some mis-communication with the truck or something.

As far as the picture quality of the BTN, I am very impressed by what I have seen. I have DirecTV and watch the games in HD. IMO, it looks far better than ESPN/ABC and NBC. CBS and FSN come close, but I do believe that tBTN looks the best.

As mentioned earlier the mishap must have been a DirectTV issue... I have WOW and they did not miss a snap.

Also as reported earlier, this is not a DirecTV issue. I have it and it has not been a problem. It does seem to be an issue with Dish Network.

 

[bkochmc]

Also as reported earlier, this is not a DirecTV issue. I have it and it has not been a problem. It does seem to be an issue with Dish Network.

DirecTV, Dish, same to us cable folks. :tongue2:

My bad on the screwup.

 

[IronBuckI]

Wasn't DirecTV the ones that screwed up the beginning of the Kent State game? Now Dish can't seem to get the timing right for commercials. I want heads to roll at both companies for these fuck ups.

 

[gold_pants]

Complaints and loses from people upset over BTN and NFL Network don't hurt at least the cable portion's profits. One of the reasons they are in no hurry.

The largest gain came from Time Warner Cable, which posted 28 percent higher profits as it absorbed new subscribers from bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp. and also signed up more customers for premium services including digital phone and high-speed Internet.

Time Warner profits fall 53 percent - Yahoo! News

 

[Tlangs]

If you aren't seeing HD, then you either have a bad setup, or improper equipment. You need an HR-20 or H-20 receiver along with a 5 LNB satellite dish.

I got my upgrade yesterday. BTN HD is great! Too bad there are no more games on it. I'm ready for hoops though.

 

[OSU SPORTS]

This is what could hurt the cable companies in the long run. I don't favor government intervention, but deregulation, will get the job done nicely. Bring on some competiton Cable Competition Bill Passes with Provisions for UW Games | Newsradio 620 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin News, Talk, Sports, Weather | Local Headlines

 

[RuGettinIt]

This is what could hurt the cable companies in the long run. I don't favor government intervention, but deregulation, will get the job done nicely. Bring on some competiton Cable Competition Bill Passes with Provisions for UW Games | Newsradio 620 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin News, Talk, Sports, Weather | Local Headlines

I'm not sure if deregulation really helps. You have to have available competition in your area for it to matter.

Both the Big Ten Network and the major cable companies (TW and Comcast, etc.) are complicit in this issue.

I'm not a fan of goverment intervention either, but in this case it may be time.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

I'm not sure if deregulation really helps. You have to have available competition in your area for it to matter.

Both the Big Ten Network and the major cable companies (TW and Comcast, etc.) are complicit in this issue.

I'm not a fan of goverment intervention either, but in this case it may be time.

Prior government intervention is the reason that there is little competition from other CABLE companies.

The simple matter of fact is that when you look at this long-term, there IS competition.

• You may be stuck in a lease now where you can't get a satellite dish
• You may be over-mortgaged (and therefore stuck) in a house where there is too much foliage around
• You may be stuck with a time-commitment to a cable company

All of these things are temporary problems. They last for more than a year or two for only a small subset of the population. If this is you, I feel bad for you. If you are in any of these situations right now, even if was only for this season, I feel bad for you.

But don't for a minute think that:

1. The government doesn't share in the blame
2. The government has an answer that will improve things in the long term (they are notoriously bad at "fixing" problems they cause)
3. You are without options.

Of course you have options. While it might suck that people occassionally come along and find a way of charging us more for something than we are accustomed to paying; but complaining that there is nothing that you can do about it is little more than a self-fulfilling prophecy. Either pay the price, find a different provider, or go without the product or service.

Better yet, if you think that the product or service in question could be provided for a lower price; put together a business case, get a loan and make yourself rich. It happens frequently in America, it might as well happen to you. Try it, you might like it. It beats the hell out of complaining.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Scout.com$ (Free over the holiday)

BTN Not Near Time Warner Deal.............BTN and Time Warner have not been in contact for a few months.

 

[sandgk]

Relevant to earlier discussion on attempts to force Cable Networks to offer a la carte subscriptions (thus unblocking any need for tiering per BTN's position with Comcast / TWC etc).

Cable escapes stricter FCC rules, for now.

Cable's fierce lobbying over the threat of expanded government control paid off late Tuesday night, as federal regulators approved a watered-down proposal that does not immediately open up the possibility of new regulations.

...
After a rocky day of closed-door negotiations, which delayed the scheduled 9:30 a.m. EST start time of the Federal Communications Commission's meeting by nearly 12 hours, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin caved to pressure from fellow commissioners over how to handle a contentious cable competition report.
That outcome could derail any future efforts by Martin to push through controversial new rules for cable operators--most notably, his longtime goal of requiring them to sell consumers packages of channels on an "a la carte" basis. (Consumer groups adore the idea, but the cable industry contends it'll only raise prices and reduce subscribers' choices.)

 

[buckeyesin07]

CFN weighs in on the BTN vs. cable companies dispute (emphasis added):

The BTN wants cable companies to simply add the channel to their lineups, at a potentially heavy price for everyone involved, including the customers, while Comcast, among others, wants to put it in a separate sports package and charge extra for it. Sorry BTN, but this one's real simple: the cable companies are in the right.

If you really need to see Big Ten sports, then you won't flinch at either making the switch to DirecTV, or paying $1 a month extra. Make it a premium channel and charge $12 a year, a pittance compared the cost of going to just one game. Sorry BTN, but if you didn't think you could make it on a "sports tier" of programming, then you didn't think this thing through.

With that said, the BTN is terrific for die-hard college football fans, especially with the replays of the games over the weekend, and I hope the SEC and others will follow suit, albeit with a better business plan.

Scout.com: Cavalcade of Whimsy - The Coaches

 

[buckeyefool]

CFN weighs in on the BTN vs. cable companies dispute (emphasis added):



Scout.com: Cavalcade of Whimsy - The Coaches

ehhh just as much can be said against the cable company. Lets add a little more to this arguement. Lets say they put it on the digital sports package like they want. so you have the $1 then the $12 or what ever the charge for the channel ohhhhh and don't forget, if you don't already have digital cable you have to pay the extra $30 to $50 to move to digital so really for the $1 that BTN wants to charge the cable company, the cable company get to milk out another $40 to $60 dollars out of the consumer. So don't let the cable company fool you and make it seem like they are just protecting people from having to pay extra if they dont want the channel.

 

[RuGettinIt]

Prior government intervention is the reason that there is little competition from other CABLE companies.

The simple matter of fact is that when you look at this long-term, there IS competition.

• You may be stuck in a lease now where you can't get a satellite dish
• You may be over-mortgaged (and therefore stuck) in a house where there is too much foliage around
• You may be stuck with a time-commitment to a cable company

All of these things are temporary problems. They last for more than a year or two for only a small subset of the population. If this is you, I feel bad for you. If you are in any of these situations right now, even if was only for this season, I feel bad for you.

But don't for a minute think that:

1. The government doesn't share in the blame
2. The government has an answer that will improve things in the long term (they are notoriously bad at "fixing" problems they cause)
3. You are without options.

Of course you have options. While it might suck that people occassionally come along and find a way of charging us more for something than we are accustomed to paying; but complaining that there is nothing that you can do about it is little more than a self-fulfilling prophecy. Either pay the price, find a different provider, or go without the product or service.

Better yet, if you think that the product or service in question could be provided for a lower price; put together a business case, get a loan and make yourself rich. It happens frequently in America, it might as well happen to you. Try it, you might like it. It beats the hell out of complaining.

I'm not sure this was all in response to my three short sentences or that there was complaining in them.

I'm in agreeance with you that goverment intervention is partially what got us here today and I don't think it is the be all end all solution ever. I believe in the "free market" solution, but that usually takes deep pockets in a case like this to start your own company.

Could I switch to the "competition" Dish Network, Limited At&t, or DirecTV absolutely. But, that comes with a cost all on its own it terms of other services that Comcast provides and having to go through the switching process.

When I say I believe that both the Cable companies and BTN are complicit in this issue, it is because they have forgotten that it is not about them but about providing a service to their customers. You know, the ones that help write their paychecks...

If Comcast and TW were smart, they would go to an ala carte system that allowed people to pick an choose stations for 'x' dollars a piece. I can't believe that the supporting technology would be an issue. How cool would it be to pay a flat rate for the basic package and then a reasonable 'x' amount per station to pick your favorites.

 

[buckeyesin07]

Lets say they put it on the digital sports package like they want. so you have the $1 then the $12 or what ever the charge for the channel ohhhhh and don't forget, if you don't already have digital cable you have to pay the extra $30 to $50 to move to digital so really for the $1 that BTN wants to charge the cable company, the cable company get to milk out another $40 to $60 dollars out of the consumer.

At least that way the market would decide, and we'd all see if the BTN can actually stand on its own two feet, which it wants us to believe it can even though it insists on being crammed down the throat of every cable subscriber.