BTN, Comcast Near Deal To Carry Net On Expanded Basic Package

The Big Ten Network (BTN) "appears poised to land its most significant carriage deal to date," as Comcast and Fox have "agreed on the framework of an agreement," according to sources cited by John Ourand in this week's SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. A source said that Comcast agreed to launch BTN on "expanded basic through most of the Big Ten Conference's eight-state region, as much as 94[%] of it." Ourand reports BTN "relaxed its demand" to launch the net on expanded basic everywhere in the eight-state region. BTN had been charging a "little less than $1 a subscriber a month," but it is not known how much Comcast will pay for carriage. As DirecTV and EchoStar hold "Most Favored Nation" clauses in their contracts with BTN, any Comcast deal that does not include "full expanded basic distribution within the Big Ten's entire eight-state footprint almost certainly will trigger renegotiations of those satellite deals." Sources said that the BTN deal could have been "sparked by [FSN's] move to secure the rights to the Detroit Pistons for FSN Detroit." Sources added that Comcast "supported FSN's move to pick up the Pistons rights because it meant that two of the cable operator's biggest competitors -- AT&T and EchoStar -- would not get them." Sources noted that Time Warner, BTN's "other big cable holdout, is not close to a deal with the channel" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 3/10 issue).