Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman has been the net's "creative catalyst since its launch in 2007, bringing each member school roughly" $8M per year, but that "windfall ... was a contributing factor in conference realignment," according to Andrew Logue of the DES MOINES REGISTER. Some schools "jumped in order to gain greater profits and stability, while others were left in limbo as the college sports landscape continued to change." Silverman said, "Not everyone has that ability to generate revenue." He added, "The Hawkeyes in Iowa are the preeminent team. And because they are, they’re a flagship member of the Big Ten and they’re able to generate revenue. That shouldn’t dissuade Iowa from generating whatever it can legitimately generate from its appeal. I don’t think that’s wrong." Silverman: "We’re able to provide funds to these universities who aspire to do all this good in the world. They’re educating our kids. They’re doing all this research." He added, "If we can help these athletic departments fund cross country and gymnastics and baseball, softball as a result of BTN, I don’t think that’s such a horrible thing" (DES MOINES REGISTER, 7/29).
GOING MOBILE: BROADCASTING & CABLE's Jon Lafayette reported BTN "expects its digital advertising revenue to score big this football season." With Comcast and the net's other distributors "ready for kickoff ... Silverman expects double digit increases in digital advertising as mobile viewing jumps on campus." Silverman: "The No. 1 thing we heard from our viewers was that they want access to this on mobile devices." Silverman said that that is particularly "true of students, who 'do everything through their phone'" (BROADCASTINGCABLE.com, 7/29).
