Living here in Indiana I can tell you Hoosier fans hate the Big Ten Network. IU fans could careless that Big Ten diving, swimming, soccer and other throw away broadcasts are being shown on the BTN but when the general public can't watch the IU basketball games on WTTV, like they have for 50 years, Hoosier fans won't take it.
The Big Ten Network has been a total flop here in Southern Indiana. It's free on my cable and they have been running PSA's for months telling everyone their rates won't go up to pay for it.
The minute I see my cable bill go up and I get told it's because I can watch Northwestern vs. Iowa Women's Waterpolo, I'll tell them to stick it. Most of my neighbors feel the same way. The Big Ten might be able to force this down the throats of Big Ten fans in other places but they won't make a dime here in the Hoosier State off of it.
I don't know a half a dozen people here in Indiana that have the Big Ten Network and pay for it.
CJ

I don't think the big ten will start a hockey league...now i do think they will probably broadcast hockey games involving big ten school's that play in the ccha and wcha...that would be UM,MSU,OSU,WIS and MN. As for expansion to 12, it makes too much sense to not happen. I think UM and Ohio state have been against it cause they didn't want a conf champ game to outshine their rival game but the other 9 big ten school's don't have a problem with it. ALso, a 11 team league creates major problems schedule wise for football and basketball and results in ties for the conf title. I look for the big 10 to go after ND again, than focus on either missouri, cuse, rutgers, and maybe a slim shot for uconn.

CatsClaw Wrote:

E-zone Wrote:

bitcruncher Wrote:All this still doesn't rule out a possible BEast association with Penn State. Who knows what the future holds.

I don't expect them to come back. But it doesn't stop me from wishing.

Sound like wishful thinking... The Big East contract in for $200 million (over 7 years I think, but will say 6 year to be on the safe side). Just for the Big Ten Network the Big 10 schools were projecting to make $10 million per year, that's $110 million per year, in like terms ESPN pays the Big East around $15 million per year for the football side of the contract.
Good heck Penn St made around $6 million last year just from the Big 10 Network part of the contract and then you play another $7 million or $8 million on top of that for the Big 10's ABC/ESPN contract.
I don't think Penn St is having a hard time debate about making around $2 million a year in the Big East or making $13 million to $18 million a year in the Big 10 from TV monies. That does not include extra BC$ Bowls or their Bowl tie-in and playing much larger stadium than can be found in the Big East.
Attendance;
#1 Michigan- 110,264
#2 Penn St- 108,917
#3 Ohio St- 105,110
#15 Wisconsin- 81,747
#21 Iowa- 70,585
#22 Michigan St- 70,540
#30 West Virginia- 60,400
#33 Purdue- 59,326
#37 Illinois- 54,872
#38 South Florida- 53,170
#41 Minnesota- 51,791
#51 Rutgers- 43,663
#59 Louisville- 39,881
#61 Connecticut- 38,205
#63 Indiana- 37,004
#66 Syracuse- 35,009
#70 Pittsburgh- 33,315
#75 Cincinnati- 30,246
#85 Northwestern- 24,589

While I don't think Penn State would jump to the Big East I'd love to know where you're getting the figures that Penn State, or any other Big East school, is going to make 2 million dollars a year. Heck, the Big East teams are going to make 2 million dollars per year just on the football television package. Example, UC is probably going to make around 6 to 8 million (maybe more), I would assume, counting bowl game , tournament revenue, and television packages, attendance, merchandise, etc. It may not be in the same territory as Penn State and the Big Ten, but it's definitely power money, and legit BCS money.

Sorry maybe I should have said $3 million if it makes you feel any better. Please fill free to provide me with any links that can better inform me on what the Big East football schools make in TV revenue. I just seemed to recall in April or March reading a write up that had West Virginia making in the $2 million range for TV revenue. But no matter how you slice it, the Big 10 Network pay around $6 million to each Big 10 school and that is projected to go up to around $10 million for the 2008-09 year. Then I have heard the Big 10 schools receive another $7 million to $9 million a year from the ABC/ESPN deal. There is NO WAY that the Big East could even come close to match the money that Penn St makes in TV revenue now in the Big 10. TV revenue is only one area were the Big East won't be able to match what the Big 10 can bring Penn St. Bowl Revenue, Marketing Name, and ect... Heck, I even looked up NCAA basketball credits the Big East has more with 87 (Big 10- 71), but the Big East also has more schools. 87 / 16 = 5.44 vs 71 / 11 = 6.45... So even though the Big East maybe thought the better basketball conference of the 2, it looks like Penn St might make more money (depends on how pay outs are done) from basketball credit being in the Big 10 vs the Big East.

omnicarrier Wrote:The opposition appears to mainly be from Michigan and tOSU because they think it will take away from their end of the year rivalry game. However, some within the conference are starting to believe that ending play two weeks prior to other conferences may be a contributing reason as to why the Big Ten teams have more difficulty in winning BCS Bowl games, particularly the National Championship Game.

Not sure I buy into that hypothesis, but it is intriguing.

Cheers,
Neil

I've never really bought the hypothesis myself, but it is already being addressed. This year the Big Ten season will end Thanksgiving weekend instead of the week before. That will also return a buy week to every team, which is probably a bigger deal than the extended time before the bowls.

E-zone Wrote:

CatsClaw Wrote:

E-zone Wrote:

bitcruncher Wrote:All this still doesn't rule out a possible BEast association with Penn State. Who knows what the future holds.

I don't expect them to come back. But it doesn't stop me from wishing.

Sound like wishful thinking... The Big East contract in for $200 million (over 7 years I think, but will say 6 year to be on the safe side). Just for the Big Ten Network the Big 10 schools were projecting to make $10 million per year, that's $110 million per year, in like terms ESPN pays the Big East around $15 million per year for the football side of the contract.
Good heck Penn St made around $6 million last year just from the Big 10 Network part of the contract and then you play another $7 million or $8 million on top of that for the Big 10's ABC/ESPN contract.
I don't think Penn St is having a hard time debate about making around $2 million a year in the Big East or making $13 million to $18 million a year in the Big 10 from TV monies. That does not include extra BC$ Bowls or their Bowl tie-in and playing much larger stadium than can be found in the Big East.
Attendance;
#1 Michigan- 110,264
#2 Penn St- 108,917
#3 Ohio St- 105,110
#15 Wisconsin- 81,747
#21 Iowa- 70,585
#22 Michigan St- 70,540
#30 West Virginia- 60,400
#33 Purdue- 59,326
#37 Illinois- 54,872
#38 South Florida- 53,170
#41 Minnesota- 51,791
#51 Rutgers- 43,663
#59 Louisville- 39,881
#61 Connecticut- 38,205
#63 Indiana- 37,004
#66 Syracuse- 35,009
#70 Pittsburgh- 33,315
#75 Cincinnati- 30,246
#85 Northwestern- 24,589

While I don't think Penn State would jump to the Big East I'd love to know where you're getting the figures that Penn State, or any other Big East school, is going to make 2 million dollars a year. Heck, the Big East teams are going to make 2 million dollars per year just on the football television package. Example, UC is probably going to make around 6 to 8 million (maybe more), I would assume, counting bowl game , tournament revenue, and television packages, attendance, merchandise, etc. It may not be in the same territory as Penn State and the Big Ten, but it's definitely power money, and legit BCS money.

Sorry maybe I should have said $3 million if it makes you feel any better. Please fill free to provide me with any links that can better inform me on what the Big East football schools make in TV revenue. I just seemed to recall in April or March reading a write up that had West Virginia making in the $2 million range for TV revenue. But no matter how you slice it, the Big 10 Network pay around $6 million to each Big 10 school and that is projected to go up to around $10 million for the 2008-09 year. Then I have heard the Big 10 schools receive another $7 million to $9 million a year from the ABC/ESPN deal. There is NO WAY that the Big East could even come close to match the money that Penn St makes in TV revenue now in the Big 10. TV revenue is only one area were the Big East won't be able to match what the Big 10 can bring Penn St. Bowl Revenue, Marketing Name, and ect... Heck, I even looked up NCAA basketball credits the Big East has more with 87 (Big 10- 71), but the Big East also has more schools. 87 / 16 = 5.44 vs 71 / 11 = 6.45... So even though the Big East maybe thought the better basketball conference of the 2, it looks like Penn St might make more money (depends on how pay outs are done) from basketball credit being in the Big 10 vs the Big East.

No one here really thinks that Penn St wlll be coming to the BE. Its a pipe dream that some my fellow BE bretheren keep dreaming of. Its similar to the way that some of the MWC fans keep dreaming of replacing the BE in the bcs, which is about as likely as Penn St coming to the BE.

ohio1317 Wrote:

omnicarrier Wrote:The opposition appears to mainly be from Michigan and tOSU because they think it will take away from their end of the year rivalry game. However, some within the conference are starting to believe that ending play two weeks prior to other conferences may be a contributing reason as to why the Big Ten teams have more difficulty in winning BCS Bowl games, particularly the National Championship Game.

Not sure I buy into that hypothesis, but it is intriguing.

Cheers,
Neil

I've never really bought the hypothesis myself, but it is already being addressed. This year the Big Ten season will end Thanksgiving weekend instead of the week before. That will also return a buy week to every team, which is probably a bigger deal than the extended time before the bowls.

This year they are still ending before Thanksgiving. For 2009, teams can agree to move games to Thanksgiving weekend. Yesterday, Big Ten schedules for 2010-2012 came out and Thanksgiving weekend was made to be part of the schedule.

cuseroc Wrote:

E-zone Wrote:

CatsClaw Wrote:

E-zone Wrote:

bitcruncher Wrote:All this still doesn't rule out a possible BEast association with Penn State. Who knows what the future holds.

I don't expect them to come back. But it doesn't stop me from wishing.

Sound like wishful thinking... The Big East contract in for $200 million (over 7 years I think, but will say 6 year to be on the safe side). Just for the Big Ten Network the Big 10 schools were projecting to make $10 million per year, that's $110 million per year, in like terms ESPN pays the Big East around $15 million per year for the football side of the contract.
Good heck Penn St made around $6 million last year just from the Big 10 Network part of the contract and then you play another $7 million or $8 million on top of that for the Big 10's ABC/ESPN contract.
I don't think Penn St is having a hard time debate about making around $2 million a year in the Big East or making $13 million to $18 million a year in the Big 10 from TV monies. That does not include extra BC$ Bowls or their Bowl tie-in and playing much larger stadium than can be found in the Big East.
Attendance;
#1 Michigan- 110,264
#2 Penn St- 108,917
#3 Ohio St- 105,110
#15 Wisconsin- 81,747
#21 Iowa- 70,585
#22 Michigan St- 70,540
#30 West Virginia- 60,400
#33 Purdue- 59,326
#37 Illinois- 54,872
#38 South Florida- 53,170
#41 Minnesota- 51,791
#51 Rutgers- 43,663
#59 Louisville- 39,881
#61 Connecticut- 38,205
#63 Indiana- 37,004
#66 Syracuse- 35,009
#70 Pittsburgh- 33,315
#75 Cincinnati- 30,246
#85 Northwestern- 24,589

While I don't think Penn State would jump to the Big East I'd love to know where you're getting the figures that Penn State, or any other Big East school, is going to make 2 million dollars a year. Heck, the Big East teams are going to make 2 million dollars per year just on the football television package. Example, UC is probably going to make around 6 to 8 million (maybe more), I would assume, counting bowl game , tournament revenue, and television packages, attendance, merchandise, etc. It may not be in the same territory as Penn State and the Big Ten, but it's definitely power money, and legit BCS money.

Sorry maybe I should have said $3 million if it makes you feel any better. Please fill free to provide me with any links that can better inform me on what the Big East football schools make in TV revenue. I just seemed to recall in April or March reading a write up that had West Virginia making in the $2 million range for TV revenue. But no matter how you slice it, the Big 10 Network pay around $6 million to each Big 10 school and that is projected to go up to around $10 million for the 2008-09 year. Then I have heard the Big 10 schools receive another $7 million to $9 million a year from the ABC/ESPN deal. There is NO WAY that the Big East could even come close to match the money that Penn St makes in TV revenue now in the Big 10. TV revenue is only one area were the Big East won't be able to match what the Big 10 can bring Penn St. Bowl Revenue, Marketing Name, and ect... Heck, I even looked up NCAA basketball credits the Big East has more with 87 (Big 10- 71), but the Big East also has more schools. 87 / 16 = 5.44 vs 71 / 11 = 6.45... So even though the Big East maybe thought the better basketball conference of the 2, it looks like Penn St might make more money (depends on how pay outs are done) from basketball credit being in the Big 10 vs the Big East.

No one here really thinks that Penn St wlll be coming to the BE. Its a pipe dream that some my fellow BE bretheren keep dreaming of. Its similar to the way that some of the MWC fans keep dreaming of replacing the BE in the bcs, which is about as likely as Penn St coming to the BE.

mattsarz Wrote:Nope, the money is guaranteed from FOX. The money isn't going down. I'm not a fan of the Big Eleven by any stretch, but the outcry from folks missing four football games (OSU, including the late season tilt vs. Wisconsin) to nearly the entire schedule (Indiana & Minnesota had nine and eight football games on the BTN, respectively) is big in these states. Remember that these are the flagship schools in these states with fans who are rabid (and sometimes quite overzelous) in their love for their team. Minnesota may be a ****** team, but they are that entire state's team.

Comcast called the content third rate, and by extension called the fans of these teams third rate.

Basketball had every Big Ten home game televised and just about every team had 1/2 their schedule on the BTN. HD for all but one. The Big Ten Tournament had three games on here. The guarantee that at least one football conference game was on there. Hockey from several of the teams playing the sport are moving select games to the network and getting hockey games from Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Michigan schools and OSU is a huge deal.

Matt,
You obviously don't live in Indiana. I live just outside of Bloomington. My son is a student at IU. Hoosiers could careless about college football. They don't fill Memorial Stadium. The only sell-outs are when Penn State, Michigan and OSU come to town. IU football games could be played on the moon and Hoosier fans couldn't care any less.
Hoosier fans are not happy with the BTN. For years games were available on local TV, before cable, on WTTV and later on the same station on cable. With the BTN every game became pay-per-view for Hoosier fans. IU fans are rabid for Hoosier basketball and it stops there. The BTN may be a success and they can spin it anyway they want but it won't be success because of IU and it's fans.
I know it's hard for those in the east to understand what it means for your program to be in a stable conference. Hoosier fans don't like change. IU has been part of the same conference for over 100 years. Hoosiers don't take kindly to a bunch of easterns peddling change here in our state for sake of the almighty dollar.
CJ

cuse, the odds are better for Penn State coming back to the eastern fold than there is for the MWC to become BCS calibur. Much better...

CardinalJim Wrote:

mattsarz Wrote:Nope, the money is guaranteed from FOX. The money isn't going down. I'm not a fan of the Big Eleven by any stretch, but the outcry from folks missing four football games (OSU, including the late season tilt vs. Wisconsin) to nearly the entire schedule (Indiana & Minnesota had nine and eight football games on the BTN, respectively) is big in these states. Remember that these are the flagship schools in these states with fans who are rabid (and sometimes quite overzelous) in their love for their team. Minnesota may be a ****** team, but they are that entire state's team.

Comcast called the content third rate, and by extension called the fans of these teams third rate.

Basketball had every Big Ten home game televised and just about every team had 1/2 their schedule on the BTN. HD for all but one. The Big Ten Tournament had three games on here. The guarantee that at least one football conference game was on there. Hockey from several of the teams playing the sport are moving select games to the network and getting hockey games from Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Michigan schools and OSU is a huge deal.

Matt,
You obviously don't live in Indiana. I live just outside of Bloomington. My son is a student at IU. Hoosiers could careless about college football. They don't fill Memorial Stadium. The only sell-outs are when Penn State, Michigan and OSU come to town. IU football games could be played on the moon and Hoosier fans couldn't care any less.
Hoosier fans are not happy with the BTN. For years games were available on local TV, before cable, on WTTV and later on the same station on cable. With the BTN every game became pay-per-view for Hoosier fans. IU fans are rabid for Hoosier basketball and it stops there. The BTN may be a success and they can spin it anyway they want but it won't be success because of IU and it's fans.
I know it's hard for those in the east to understand what it means for your program to be in a stable conference. Hoosier fans don't like change. IU has been part of the same conference for over 100 years. Hoosiers don't take kindly to a bunch of easterns peddling change here in our state for sake of the almighty dollar.
CJ

I do however live around a bunch of OSU fans in Cleveland who didn't like change either and couldn't understand why those early season games weren't on, had a "how dare they" attitude when the Wisconsin game late in the year ended up on here amd couldn't find some of the basketball games down the stretch but the ones I spoke when this news broke quite thrilled at the prospect of one of the cable companies finally caving and that maybe it will change their luck with Time Warner. Others admitted the pull was enough that they had already switched to satellite.

Don't fear, one of the rumors is that when Comcast agreed, they will allow for this football and basketball season to be on expanded basic as a free preview, then they can move the channel down to digital basic. Basically they are going into it saying "here's your games again, and we'll have them, but we'll make this more of a pay service down the road." Dish Network has already done this as the BTN is a sports pack addition if you live outside the Big Ten states.

One thing people are not considering is that the Big Ten could also expand to 12 teams but opt against holding a title game in football. It is possible for two Big Ten teams to go unbeaten right now, as Ohio State and Iowa proved a few years ago, so that is not an issue. This would allow them to move into new markets, balance their scheduling in every sport, and continue putting two teams into the BCS.

mattsarz Wrote:I do however live around a bunch of OSU fans in Cleveland

A Browns fan....I hope. :ncaabbs:
I can't wait until the NFL season starts. It's great to finally have some hope of making the play-offs. Romeo is doing a heck of a job.
CJ

CardinalJim Wrote:

mattsarz Wrote:I do however live around a bunch of OSU fans in Cleveland

A Browns fan....I hope. :ncaabbs:
I can't wait until the NFL season starts. It's great to finally have some hope of making the play-offs. Romeo is doing a heck of a job.
CJ

Sorry...Bills fan...Buffalo born & raised. Been in Cleveland for seven years.

I don't have anything against the Browns...I do not care for the Steelers though.

CardinalJim Wrote:

mattsarz Wrote:Nope, the money is guaranteed from FOX. The money isn't going down. I'm not a fan of the Big Eleven by any stretch, but the outcry from folks missing four football games (OSU, including the late season tilt vs. Wisconsin) to nearly the entire schedule (Indiana & Minnesota had nine and eight football games on the BTN, respectively) is big in these states. Remember that these are the flagship schools in these states with fans who are rabid (and sometimes quite overzelous) in their love for their team. Minnesota may be a ****** team, but they are that entire state's team.

Comcast called the content third rate, and by extension called the fans of these teams third rate.

Basketball had every Big Ten home game televised and just about every team had 1/2 their schedule on the BTN. HD for all but one. The Big Ten Tournament had three games on here. The guarantee that at least one football conference game was on there. Hockey from several of the teams playing the sport are moving select games to the network and getting hockey games from Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Michigan schools and OSU is a huge deal.

Matt,
You obviously don't live in Indiana. I live just outside of Bloomington. My son is a student at IU. Hoosiers could careless about college football. They don't fill Memorial Stadium. The only sell-outs are when Penn State, Michigan and OSU come to town. IU football games could be played on the moon and Hoosier fans couldn't care any less.
Hoosier fans are not happy with the BTN. For years games were available on local TV, before cable, on WTTV and later on the same station on cable. With the BTN every game became pay-per-view for Hoosier fans. IU fans are rabid for Hoosier basketball and it stops there. The BTN may be a success and they can spin it anyway they want but it won't be success because of IU and it's fans.
I know it's hard for those in the east to understand what it means for your program to be in a stable conference. Hoosier fans don't like change. IU has been part of the same conference for over 100 years. Hoosiers don't take kindly to a bunch of easterns peddling change here in our state for sake of the almighty dollar.
CJ

There's a huge difference between being upset for a certain amount of time about games being moved from free television to cable (which has been the trend in sports for the past 25 years) and an unwillingness to to watch those games on cable. What you seem to be insinuating is that IU fans hate the BTN so much that they won't watch it, which is ridiculous. If anything, IU fans are such basketball fanatics that they are at the front of the line in terms of needing the BTN included in basic cable packages compared to any of the other Big Ten schools. They were mad at the BTN because they couldn't watch many of IU's games this past year. Knowing this, the Big Ten has leveraged that passion of Hoosiers fans and other schools to get the cable coverage that it wants from Comcast. There are surely always complaints in the beginning (just as Chicagoans complained when Cubs games were moved from over-the-air WGN to cable, New Yorkers complained when the Yankees formed their own network, sports fans of all stripes complained about major events being moved from network TV to ESPN, etc.), but that doesn't mean that the BTN wasn't successful in leveraging its power in Indiana sports. The BTN will be successful in Indiana because it provides exclusive access to highly valuable programming content (IU basketball games) that no one can get anywhere else. At the end of the day, if IU fans are as rabid as you say they are, then they will watch whatever channel the Hoosiers happen to be on. Once the PR issues die down from the lack of the BTN from last year, the BTN will be looked at no differently than ESPN or any other cable network. People need to separate the temporary emotions of the fans that are mad from missing a season of games versus long-term business success (which it appears the BTN will be able to achieve).

BTN/Comcast deal is now official:

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/...ewsLang=en

Frank the Tank Wrote:BTN/Comcast deal is now official:

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/...ewsLang=en

Sounds like both sides got part of what they wanted

1) Big Ten Network got initial coverage on expanded basic and digital coverage in the rest of the country

2) Comcast is giving the consumer freedom of choice. If you want it, you can pay extra for it.

mattsarz Wrote:

Frank the Tank Wrote:BTN/Comcast deal is now official:

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/...ewsLang=en

Sounds like both sides got part of what they wanted

1) Big Ten Network got initial coverage on expanded basic and digital coverage in the rest of the country

2) Comcast is giving the consumer freedom of choice. If you want it, you can pay extra for it.

I'd say this deal could be considered a setback for the Big Ten. By giving Comcast the option of putting it back into the sports tier after the initial extended basic coverage, does anyone really think they won't use that option once the initial season is done?

Cheers,
Neil

omnicarrier Wrote:

mattsarz Wrote:

Frank the Tank Wrote:BTN/Comcast deal is now official:

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/...ewsLang=en

Sounds like both sides got part of what they wanted

1) Big Ten Network got initial coverage on expanded basic and digital coverage in the rest of the country

2) Comcast is giving the consumer freedom of choice. If you want it, you can pay extra for it.

I'd say this deal could be considered a setback for the Big Ten. By giving Comcast the option of putting it back into the sports tier after the initial extended basic coverage, does anyone really think they won't use that option once the initial season is done?

Cheers,
Neil

The language of "broadly distributed digital level of service" is rather ambiguous. Could mean digital basic but I don't think it means it means the digital sports tier. Of course, Comcast and the NFL I believe fought over this type of contract language and it favored Comcast.

Its only a setback if this truly was going to be the vehicle for all Big Ten content in the future. If you look at the SEC model of telecasts today, no one gets every game televised. Some games go untelevised or go to PPV and the idea behind that is protecting the gate.

I'm tired of speculating about this. Would the Big Eleven please release some game times for the first few weeks of the season? I'd like to get some work done.

I heard Colin Cowherd on The Herd ESPN radio yesterday RIPPING on how bad the Big Televen SUCKS right now. Said that after O$U you have nothing and the conference is a joke and has been now for three or four years in a row and it's not about to change anytime soon.

mattsarz Wrote:

omnicarrier Wrote:

mattsarz Wrote:

Frank the Tank Wrote:BTN/Comcast deal is now official:

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/...ewsLang=en

Sounds like both sides got part of what they wanted

1) Big Ten Network got initial coverage on expanded basic and digital coverage in the rest of the country

2) Comcast is giving the consumer freedom of choice. If you want it, you can pay extra for it.

I'd say this deal could be considered a setback for the Big Ten. By giving Comcast the option of putting it back into the sports tier after the initial extended basic coverage, does anyone really think they won't use that option once the initial season is done?

Cheers,
Neil

The language of "broadly distributed digital level of service" is rather ambiguous. Could mean digital basic but I don't think it means it means the digital sports tier. Of course, Comcast and the NFL I believe fought over this type of contract language and it favored Comcast.

Its only a setback if this truly was going to be the vehicle for all Big Ten content in the future. If you look at the SEC model of telecasts today, no one gets every game televised. Some games go untelevised or go to PPV and the idea behind that is protecting the gate.

I'm tired of speculating about this. Would the Big Eleven please release some game times for the first few weeks of the season? I'd like to get some work done.

My understanding is that Comcast has the option of moving the BTN to digital basic (not the sports tier) within the Big Ten footprint next year while it would be on the sports tier everywhere else. At the end of the day, since digital basic is essentially becoming standard, the BTN got the distribution it was looking for. I doubt that the Big Ten will really move any games off of ABC/ESPN/CBS any time soon - it's really about maximizing the value of what used to be their ESPN Plus package and having content control. There were certainly lumps in these negotiations, but one of the benefits of being the first conference to do this is that it secured national basic distribution on DirecTV for essentially as long as the network exists, which none of the other conferences will likely be able to do now.