Comcast airing Big Ten network

by Becky Vevea

Wednesday, August 6, 2008 00:00

Badger fans across Wisconsin will now have access to the Big Ten Network — provided they have Comcast cable.

Comcast now offers the Big Ten Network as part of their expanded basic cable package in the eight Big Ten states.

“We believe that, in all, it’s a good deal for Comcast, it’s a good deal for us and it’s a great deal for our fans,” said Elizabeth Conlisk, BTN vice president of communications.

The first two Badger games of the season — home games against University of Akron and Marshall University — will be broadcast on the BTN.

Although both games are at Camp Randall Stadium, University of Wisconsin students who do not have season football tickets could find themselves looking for a place to watch the games, as Madison’s main cable provider, Charter Communications, still does not carry the channel. 

Comcast is the first of the three major cable service providers in Wisconsin to come to an agreement with the BTN, and the deal could provide the framework for the other two cable companies, Charter and Time Warner.

Both providers have been in talks with BTN for almost a year. DirecTV and Dish Network, however, carry BTN.

“We are actively engaged in discussions with Fox Sports regarding BTN and are hopeful those discussions will result in a positive outcome,” John Miller, director of communications for Charter Communications in Wisconsin, said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald.

Conlisk said BTN has a number of rights as a network regarding broadcasting the games, including broadband rights to air games on the Internet. She said these could complicate signing deals with cable providers.

“The framework was mapped out very quickly, and what took longer were the discussions related to video on demand content and other things like that,” Conlisk said.

Vince Sweeney, University of Wisconsin Athletics vice president of external relations, called the BTN-Comcast deal “a significant agreement.”

“We’re hopeful that the distribution will continue to grow with Charter and Time Warner signing an agreement,” he said.

Conlisk would not disclose the financial terms of the Comcast agreement. Miller said Charter is unaware of the components of the Comcast agreement at this time.