BTN and FS1 will have 22 of the first 24 games for the 10 schools located in Comcast marketsGETTY IMAGES
Fox and Comcast are "about to butt heads again, this time about a potential blackout" of Big Ten Network, according to Jon Lafayette of BROADCASTING & CABLE. At Big Ten football media day yesterday Fox Sports President of National Networks Mark Silverman noted that BTN's "agreement is expiring soon, along with the agreement to carry" conference games on FS1. He added that BTN and FS1 "made proposals to Comcast in February, but Comcast hasn’t made a 'substantive response.'" BTN and FS1 "will have 22 of the first 24 games for the 10 schools located in Comcast markets." An ad campaign from Fox is "in the works" (BROADCASTINGCABLE.com, 7/24). In Michigan, Aaron McMann noted Comcast is currently "available in 10 of the 14 states in which Big Ten schools reside." In Michigan, 38% of "all homes with cable or satellite subscriptions have Comcast." Silverman said that "approximately 60 Big Ten football games this fall are expected to air on BTN and FS1" (MLIVE.com, 7/24). THE ATHLETIC's Stewart Mandel wrote the situation is "definitely worth keeping an eye on." Losing distribution "would be a huge blow for the conference" (TWITTER.com, 7/24).
BAD TIMING: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Joe Flint writes the "potential showdown comes at a sensitive moment for the two companies." Fox in recent months "rebuffed overtures from Comcast" to buy the bulk of its entertainment assets, "favoring a bid" from Disney. Sources said that Comcast during the merger talks felt that Fox "didn’t consider its offer seriously." BTN is "available in more than 50 million homes," but the "friction over the Fox merger discussions and Sky pursuit could add an extra layer of tension" to the BTN carriage negotiations (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/25). In New Jersey, Willis & Newman note Comcast in '15 pulled YES Net off its system in a "carriage dispute that wasn't resolved for over a year" (ASBURY PARK PRESS, 7/25). In Pennsylvania, Greg Pickel wrote the dispute "sets up for a showdown between the Big Ten and Comcast that leaves fans hanging in the balance as the season quickly approaches" (PENNLIVE.com, 7/24).
JUST NOT WORKING ANYMORE? YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote disaster "isn’t imminent," but Silverman's comments could be considered a "flashing warning light for not just conference-owned cable channels that funneled massive money into college sports, but the very schools and conferences that rely on that revenue." BTN's launch in '06 "spawned copycats in search of the gold rush (SEC Network, Pac 12 Network, even the Longhorn Network)" but it also "led to a major upheaval in college athletics and conference realignment shredded traditions and brokered unlikely marriages, all in pursuit of cable homes." What if conference television networks are "no longer such a smashing success?" Cable TV is "not a growth industry." It becomes "easy to drop low-rated networks, and for all the hype about these channels, they struggle to draw regular viewers, especially beyond live football and men’s basketball." Comcast "isn’t just the No. 1 cable provider in the country; it’s No. 1 in the 11 Big Ten states -- five of those (Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and New Jersey) rank in the top 11 nationally and have a combined population alone of 56.1 million." While the current Comcast impasse "may work itself out, the future is fairly clear here" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/24).
OUT WEST: In San Jose, Jon Wilner writes no one "expects the Pac-12 and AT&T to double down on their partnership" when their current deal reportedly expires this summer. A source said that the conference and AT&T have been "destined for separation" since they "last seriously engaged in negotiations over DirecTV carriage" in September '15. At the time, AT&T had "just completed the takeover of DirecTV and pitched a deal" to Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott that "provided distribution for the networks on DTV in exchange for wireless rights across all 12 campuses" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 7/25).
