Big Ten Network Facing Difficulties Achieving Wide Distribution In Nebraska

A dispute between the Big Ten and TV providers "over distribution of the Big Ten Network and the fees that systems pay for BTN" has put Univ. of Nebraska games televised by the net "in limbo for certain subscribers," according to Lee Barfknecht of the Omaha WORLD-HERALD. NU officially joins the Big Ten next month, and the conference "wants TV distributors in Nebraska to pay fees and distribute BTN on a comparable tier or level of service that cable and satellite systems in the other eight states in the Big Ten do." Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said, "We're not going to have the Big Ten Network not be treated in the same way in Nebraska that it's treated throughout the conference." BTN President Mark Silverman said that it is an "oversimplification to say that the Big Ten wants BTN on basic cable in Nebraska instead of on specialty tiers." But he added the net wants to be "more broadly distributed than it is today." Silverman said the net has "made solid progress and had very positive negotiations with Dish Network, Charter and Cox," but added there has been "nothing yet" with Time Warner, which serves Lincoln. Barfknecht noted the NU football games broadcast by BTN include the Sept. 3 game against Tennessee-Chattanooga, the Sept. 10 game against Fresno State and a "to-be-determined conference football game." NU AD Tom Osborne said that "any higher cable fees that eventually might be incurred and passed on to consumers would be far less than the $39.95 price for multiple pay-per-view games that fans have paid in the past several years" (Omaha WORLD-HERALD, 6/8).

DIGGING IN: Silverman indicated that without making the changes, games "still could be shown on an open channel instead of the channel assigned to BTN, and those games would be labeled 'Big Ten Conference' instead of BTN." Silverman: "The network's not going off the air. It's going to stay available. It's just that it won't have the rights to home Nebraska events until (distributors) make this change to be consistent with all the other Big Ten schools in other areas" (LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR, 6/8). In Lincoln, Steven Sipple notes Time Warner believes it is "already contractually entitled to all of the programming on BTN, including Nebraska football games." Sipple: "The safe bet in this skirmish is Delany/Silverman. They have the unrelenting passion of Husker fans on their side" (LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR, 6/9).