Two days after the Big Ten Network announced they would air the Wisconsin-Ohio State football game this Saturday, a bipartisan team of state legislators said they are trying to make such games more accessible to fans.
With the Big Ten Network unavailable on Charter Communications basic cable in Madison, many will not have access to the Badgers-Buckeyes game in their homes.
On Tuesday, Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, and Rep. Kitty Rhoades, R-Hudson, said they will introduce the Fair Access to Networks bill that would create an arbitration process to settle negotiations between cable companies and specialty sports networks.
If a cable company, like Charter or Time Warner, cannot negotiate a deal with a sports network, an independent arbiter would be brought in to settle the issue.
“I think it’s been rather bizarre, so we’re trying to fix it in a bipartisan way,” Hansen said.
Most cable regulation is local, according to University of Wisconsin journalism professor Robert Drechsel, but this bill would cover cable negotiations statewide.
While Hansen said he thinks the Legislature has authority to go through with such a bill, UW telecommunications professor Barry Orton said the state has “no real role” in the negotiations of two private businesses.
“They could pass a bill, but both sides are in a commercial negotiation,” Orton said. “The state can’t force its way into a commercial negotiation.”
Still, Hansen said he had to watch last week’s Badger football game at a local pub and is surprised this Saturday’s game is not available to most cable users.
“I never expected a game of that importance would not be available on the big networks,” Hansen said.
Hansen added the matchup between Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 29 is slated to air on the NFL Network, which Charter also does not carry. The bill would extend to the NFL Network as well.
The Big Ten Network is available on several small cable providers statewide, but negotiations between it and Charter are now at a standstill, according to representatives from both.
“I think there’s blame to be placed on both sides … but let’s get this done,” Hansen said, adding, “it should be about the fans.”
