As the University of Wisconsin football team prepares to play the No. 1 ranked team in the nation this Saturday, most Badger fans will not be able to watch the drama from the comfort of their apartments or homes. The new Big Ten Network, which will be broadcasting Saturday’s game against Ohio State, is still far from reaching an agreement with Charter Communications, Madison’s primary cable provider, according to Mike Vest, media relations manager for the Big Ten Network. "We’re miles apart in the negotiations," Vest said. "We’re at a standstill with Charter, and we’re not expecting to make a deal for quite some time." Unfortunately for Badger fans, this means most of Madison will be left in the dark for the third consecutive week as the network has exclusive rights to broadcast the Badger game. The network has already televised three UW football games this fall, and according to Vest they plan on covering 19 men’s basketball games later this year. According to John Miller, director of communications for Charter, negotiations are moving slowly because both companies have yet to retreat from their original positions regarding how the network should be offered to customers. While the Big Ten Network would like to see the network featured on Charter’s expanded basic service, the cable company insists such a deal would be unfair to customers, as it is more expensive than most networks they currently offer. "Our policy all along has been that we’re more than willing to carry the network, but due to the cost, they would automatically be the third-highest cost service on our expanded basic services," Miller said. "The cost is way out of line for what services are on expanded basic, especially for a new service." Miller said Charter has offered that the Big Ten Network be broadcasted as part of their digital sports tier or as an a la carte service. Vest, however, said the network should have a spot on the expanded basic services because Badger fans should not have to pay extra to watch their teams’ games. "We feel this is important programming not just to Madison, but to the people in the state of Wisconsin," Vest said.