B1G Media Rights / Comcast / Conference Realignment

[Calvin]

Diluting historical rivalries while not adding premier football matchups is damaging the value of the brand. You can milk cable subscription fees in DC and NY of course, but it was as obvious as the nose on your face when we added those schools that that boost was extremely temporary, whereas the dilution was permanent.

Penn State and Nebraska were added to boost the inventory of desirable, nationally relevant football matchups, which are the core product under any revenue model. (For the record, I wouldn't have made those additions either, but I get it) Rutgers and Maryland were a cheap accounting trick and represented Jim Delany playing himself at the game he invented. Couldn't believe it then, and now the chickens begin to arrive at the roost.

It's easy to second guess Delany, but I think it was important to position the BIG in what looked like a possible run towards 4 superconferences. Several conferences were at severe risk of losing out, and in the long run, it could still happen. College football has a long history of dividing up the pie unevenly.

That said, I'm not sure where Rutgers fits in, but I did see this tidbit:

"Last season, Rutgers ranked ninth in the Big Ten and 51st nationally with an average attendance of 44,804 for its seven home games."

There's also, at least in my mind, the issue of competitive balance. You can't have every program be elite --there's just never enough room for everyone to be a winner. If you get a solid base with good academics, it may not be such a bad decision financially. I don't think Delaney is all that capable of making a bad financial move for the conference. It may or may not have been optimal, but he has been a very saavy leader that has put the BIG ahead of it's peers.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

it was important to position the BIG in what looked like a possible run towards 4 superconferences.

That was very important in 2010 and played into the Nebraska decision, but 4X16 was dead by the time of the Maryland and Rutgers additions. The Big XII signed a grant of rights deal in September 2012 that was the end of that particular alternate universe. It really might have happened if not for the Longhorn Network though, amazing.

Also, give Delany some credit, even if he was misguided, he wasn't reacting to the 4X16 idea, he was one of the main creators of it.

 

[Deleted member 628259]

Good. It never made sense for conferences to have their own networks in the first place. Hopefully this is just the first casualty.

 

[Illini_1979]

Cancelled the Sports Package today and sent an email to Tom Karinshak, Comcast's SVP of Customer Experience.

https://www.xfinity.com/Corporate/Customers/TomKCustCare.html

 

[WhiteRhino]

"Xfinity subscribers in Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia will be considered part of Maryland’s market. Comcast also said it’s including Delaware, which is adjacent to Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania."


"Much has been made of the fact New York state is considered out of market. New York’s wealth of potential viewers were part of the conference’s calculus in adding New Jersey’s Rutgers University in 2014 with the University of Maryland. Further staking its claim to the New York market, the conference staged its men’s basketball tournament last month at Madison Square Garden.

"But Comcast’s spokesman pointed out it does not serve the New York City market, so this move should not affect people there."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...y-dumping-big-ten-network-20180413-story.html

 

[haasi]

comcast and BTN should both go jump off a cliff.

BTN should give viewers an option to subscribe directly, like HBO Now, with all games - no BTN plus crap - for like $100 a year.

 

[Illini_1979]

Cancelled the Sports Package today and sent an email to Tom Karinshak, Comcast's SVP of Customer Experience.

https://www.xfinity.com/Corporate/Customers/TomKCustCare.html

Got this response from Comcast...

Dear Mr. ,
I appreciate you contacting Comcast. My name is Teresa with the Office of Tom Karinshak. You are requesting that the Big Ten Network not be removed from Comcast. I definitely know the importance of watching your favorite shows. Thank you for being a valued Comcast customer. I am happy to assist you.
I truly appreciate your feedback and concern. Several years ago we responded to the interests of some sports fans in certain markets by adding a limited number of out-of-market sports channels to the Sports & Entertainment Package.
However, in the years since the opportunities for fans to connect with their sports interests outside of the area where they live has grown dramatically, both online and via apps. As a result, viewership of these often-blacked-out channels has dropped to a point where they no longer represent an appropriate value for Sports & Entertainment Package customers.
Alternative Viewing Options:
Fans can still access more than 70 Big Ten basketball live games on ESPN networks, FOX Sports, FS1, and CBS Sports. Big Ten Plus will also carry numerous games throughout the season.

The Big Ten Network YouTube channel offers game previews, highlights, analysis, press conferences and original shows. Xfinity X1 customers can access the Big Ten Network YouTube channel by saying "BTN" or "Big Ten Network" into their voice remote. If they don't have a voice remote, they can access YouTube via the apps menu and type in 'BTN' or 'Big Ten Network' in the search box and clicking, OK.

BTN Plus is an online alternative which can be found at www.btn2go.com/page/btnplus. BTN Plus offers customers over 1,000 non-televised games and events streamed live plus classic games.
I apologize for any inconvenience. We are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week as part of our XFINITY Customer Commitment. Thank you for choosing Comcast. We appreciate your business.
Sincerely,

Teresa V.
Office of Tom Karinshak

 

[IllinistuckinGopherland]

Got this response from Comcast...

Dear Mr. ,
I appreciate you contacting Comcast. My name is Teresa with the Office of Tom Karinshak. You are requesting that the Big Ten Network not be removed from Comcast. I definitely know the importance of watching your favorite shows. Thank you for being a valued Comcast customer. I am happy to assist you.
I truly appreciate your feedback and concern. Several years ago we responded to the interests of some sports fans in certain markets by adding a limited number of out-of-market sports channels to the Sports & Entertainment Package.
However, in the years since the opportunities for fans to connect with their sports interests outside of the area where they live has grown dramatically, both online and via apps. As a result, viewership of these often-blacked-out channels has dropped to a point where they no longer represent an appropriate value for Sports & Entertainment Package customers.
Alternative Viewing Options:
Fans can still access more than 70 Big Ten basketball live games on ESPN networks, FOX Sports, FS1, and CBS Sports. Big Ten Plus will also carry numerous games throughout the season.

The Big Ten Network YouTube channel offers game previews, highlights, analysis, press conferences and original shows. Xfinity X1 customers can access the Big Ten Network YouTube channel by saying "BTN" or "Big Ten Network" into their voice remote. If they don't have a voice remote, they can access YouTube via the apps menu and type in 'BTN' or 'Big Ten Network' in the search box and clicking, OK.

BTN Plus is an online alternative which can be found at www.btn2go.com/page/btnplus. BTN Plus offers customers over 1,000 non-televised games and events streamed live plus classic games.
I apologize for any inconvenience. We are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week as part of our XFINITY Customer Commitment. Thank you for choosing Comcast. We appreciate your business.
Sincerely,

Teresa V.
Office of Tom Karinshak

I got the exact same statement today on chat with a Comcast rep as I was removing my Sports and Entertainment Package.

(I no longer live in Gopherland)

 

[illini80]

Frankly, the cable companies are in a pickle. They are getting dropped right and left because their programming charges are so high. Stations like BTN are exactly why they are so high. Every station out there want them to pay through the nose and require as many of their subscribers as possible to pay whether they want the channel or not.

And every time a cable company tries to fight the rising costs, the stations go to the viewers and tell them to demand that Comcast/Dish/Whoever, provide their channel. I work with a small provider and have seen this over and over.

 

[Deleted member 29907]

Frankly, the cable companies are in a pickle. They are getting dropped right and left because their programming charges are so high. Stations like BTN are exactly why they are so high. Every station out there want them to pay through the nose and require as many of their subscribers as possible to pay whether they want the channel or not.

And every time a cable company tries to fight the rising costs, the stations go to the viewers and tell them to demand that Comcast/Dish/Whoever, provide their channel. I work with a small provider and have seen this over and over.

Do the cable companies not have the ability to offer smaller packages? Like Youtube TV and Direct TV Now do? My Fios probably has 800 channels - but i probably watch maybe 40 max over the course of any year?

 

[IlliniSaluki]

Do the cable companies not have the ability to offer smaller packages? Like Youtube TV and Direct TV Now do? My Fios probably has 800 channels - but i probably watch maybe 40 max over the course of any year?

Not sure about other companies but today I got an email from Charter/spectrum for people that have Internet through them you can choose 10 channels + all your local channels for like 22$ for a 2 yr contract.. and the ability to add on the movie channels (15$ extra for all .. not sure individual price)

 

[Illini_1979]

Frankly, the cable companies are in a pickle. They are getting dropped right and left because their programming charges are so high. Stations like BTN are exactly why they are so high. Every station out there want them to pay through the nose and require as many of their subscribers as possible to pay whether they want the channel or not.

And every time a cable company tries to fight the rising costs, the stations go to the viewers and tell them to demand that Comcast/Dish/Whoever, provide their channel. I work with a small provider and have seen this over and over.

Shouldn't they move to ala carte and let everyone select their own channels? Doing so would probably result in the demise of the smaller, less-watched channels but I would be OK with that.

 

[The Galloping Ghost]

Shouldn't they move to ala carte and let everyone select their own channels? Doing so would probably result in the demise of the smaller, less-watched channels but I would be OK with that.

Ala carte sounds great in theory, but it's likely to bring the cost of cable down as you'll no longer have everyone subsidizing your niche channel of choice.

For example, a channel like ESPN is currently on most cable providers' basic package, so non-sports fans are helping reduce the cost for sports fans. Once you start to pick and choose your channels, a sizeable portion of cable subscribers will no longer provide the cable company money to show ESPN, driving up the cost to sports fans, as each cable channel gets a portion of your cable bill. Now apply that to a substantially smaller niche like The Golf Channel and you'll have an even more expensive channel.

What's likely to happen is, yes, less-watched channels will die off, but you'll also end up paying, at best, about the same, if not even more, for substantially fewer channels, including some you'd prefer to have.

Right now there doesn't seem to be an elegant solution. There's a lot of money out there for the person or company that can crack that nut.

 

[JTOWNillini]

The [Comcast] markets that will continue to receive BTN are Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

States not on this list are considered out-of-market.
https://twitter.com/BFQuinn/status/984540460835274754

Rutgers over Syracuse was an awful, awful move.

Athletics notwithstanding, gladly trade NJ for NY right now.

 

[Deleted member 29907]

Not sure about other companies but today I got an email from Charter/spectrum for people that have Internet through them you can choose 10 channels + all your local channels for like 22$ for a 2 yr contract.. and the ability to add on the movie channels (15$ extra for all .. not sure individual price)

Seems like alot for low number of channels. Checkout YouTube TV(google) and Direct TV Now (AT&T) - both cord cutting options that seem to provide more channels for like $35 - $50 per month.

 

[sinmyp]

So we expanded to 14 teams and take i. Butgers just for the NY cable market and now the BTN is being dropped there. Nice. Can we bring the tournament back to Cbicago now?

 

[Stevegarbs]

Rutgers over Syracuse was an awful, awful move.



Athletics notwithstanding, gladly trade NJ for NY right now.

Only room for one Orange team in the B1G!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[WhiteRhino]

So we expanded to 14 teams and take i. Butgers just for the NY cable market and now the BTN is being dropped there. Nice. Can we bring the tournament back to Cbicago now?

New York City doesn't have Comcast and that is the only provider that is dropping BTN at this point.

Also, Comcast is not dropping BTN in New Jersey and that is the 11th-most-populated state with almost nine million people.

 

[illini80]

Shouldn't they move to ala carte and let everyone select their own channels? Doing so would probably result in the demise of the smaller, less-watched channels but I would be OK with that.

Speaking in generalities here because I can't talk about specifics, but companies like Disney, Turner, and Viacom own a vast number of channels. If one of those channels gets a hit program, they have the leverage to require the cable companies to air all their channels or they will pull the one(s) that have popular programs.

I agree though. I watch about 6 channels and would love to get rid of the rest.

My opinion is sometime in the near future, all programming will be available streaming and your cable provider will just be your ISP.

 

[Tacomallini]

Did a quick skim through this thread, and want to add that I too have been very pleased with Youtube TV. I pay $38.54/month after taxes for the basic plus sports package. Unlimited DVR, and since I'm on the West Coast and have young kids, I almost never get a chance to watch games live...the other plus is skipping through commercials. I got it specifically last season cause I was so excited to be done with the Groce era and see what an Underwood Illini team would look like. IIRC the only game I didn't get all season was Grand Canyon U., which was on Big Ten Plus.
Haven't had a tv in over a decade. For a few years I pirated sports events, which was (is) doable for sure, just have to have some patience, and highly recommend a computer just for that purpose, as you'll be fighting malware and it would suck to lose a sole computer just trying to watch a game.
For all of Malcolm Hill's time, I followed the team pretty closely just listening to TuneIn Radio on my phone, which I know several posters on this board also use...seems like a bygone era to follow a team closely on the radio but there's a nostalgic charm to it. As an aside, I spent a year in Iraq with the Army and got way into Wimbledon that summer, listening to a BBC radio feed on a crank generator emergency radio...not a big fan of tennis by any means but it's a sport that translates surprisingly well to radio for desperate times. Starting to ramble into Hummus territory of word count (for those of you following the recruiting thread), so...
TLDR summary- I've been happy w/ price and service of YouTube tv and only missed out on 1 Illini game last season

 

[skyIdub]

Cuck Fomcast.

 

[smokeybandit]

BTN originally wanted Comcast as a launch partner. Comcast said no. So BTN went to Fox instead.

Ever since, Comcast has had sour grapes in regards to BTN.

 

[JoeJ]

As a Comcast subscriber in MA, getting BTN was part of the allure. Not sure if switching to FIOS is a good option or not. Wonder if FIOS is next in line to drop BTN.

May keep Comcast just for the internet. Not sure what that cost is. My wife works at home and an internet interruption would be unwelcome.

Does You Tube TV have DVR?
Does it have an option for Red Zone on NFL network?
What about HULU?

Listened to games on the radio before they were virtually all picked up on cable. Listen to per/post games when my interest is up. Pick up the football feed thru BTN Comcast subscription.

Go Illini!

 

[skamin7]

I love the fact that I can watch the PAC12 Network but lose the BIG10 in the FL market???? this really sucks. I would have left comcast years ago it if wasn't subsidized as part of my HOA fees. Maybe this will put me over the edge. I can only take so much SEC crap down here.

 

[IlliniFaninHoosierLand]

(I no longer live in Gopherland)

Same here, though for me I created my username during my brief 2 year stint living in Indy.