Big Ten Network to Appear on Time Warner Cable

By Jon Lafayette

The Big Ten Network reached a carriage agreement with Time Warner Cable that will put the channel on systems in Big Ten markets including Ohio and Wisconsin in time for the start of college football season.

The deal follows on the heels of Big Ten Network’s deal with Comcast, which had balked at carrying the network on its broadly viewed channel packages or paying the asking price of about $1 a subscriber.

Big Ten Network resisted be placed on sports tier, which are bought by few subscribers.
The stalemate lasted through all of the network’s first season of football and basketball games.

Other major cable operators took a similar position and most of the channel’s subscribers watched via satellite-TV. Some analysts said that battles with Big Ten Network and NFL Network were costing the cable operators subscribers.

After months of nasty advertising, Comcast and Big Ten network reached a deal in June that pays the network about 70 cents per subscriber in Big Ten states like Michigan, Illinois and Indiana, but allows the operator to put it on sports tiers outside those markets.

The network began appearing on Comcast systems earlier this month.

That deal was expected to establish guidelines for the network to set arrangements with other cable operators.

Time Warner Cable’s agreement with Big Ten Network covers both its standard and high-definition services, as well as video on demand.

Editor: Baumann