Comcast, Big Ten Network end dispute

One of the less-publicized hurdles to the Big Ten’s westward expansion was making sure that fans living in that part of the country would have access to watch games on the conference’s network.

On Thursday, one of those major hurdles was cleared, as Comcast settled a carriage dispute with Fox, the majority owner of Big Ten Network, that will end the network’s blackouts for Xfinity TV customers in California, Oregon, and Washington. The dispute began before football season and lasted for five weeks.

At the crux of the dispute, as per usual in these negotiations, was the Big Ten Network’s tiering on Comcast’s cable systems. Comcast sought to offer the Big Ten Network on a more expensive, premium tier, in order to avoid passing on additional costs to customers with no interest in the channel.  Fox, on the other hand, wanted to require Big Ten Network’s inclusion on Comcast’s basic tier, as is standard for all other markets in the conference.

Beyond that, even Comcast customers on much of the West Coast who did get BTN were unable to watch live games from new schools USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington. That came while those in those areas who got BTN through other providers were able to do that.

Ultimately, it was Fox that won out. Big Ten Network will now be available on Comcast’s basic tier throughout the West Coast, and the new schools’ games will be available for Comcast customers who get BTN. The agreement comes just in time for Big Ten Network to air the Minnesota-UCLA game on Saturday night, and the many basketball games that are set to air on the network when the season starts next month.

To Fox’s credit, the ability to expand the Big Ten Network’s reach to more customers is precisely why the conference’s manifest destiny began in the first place.

Of course, adding national college football brands like USC, Oregon, and Washington to the Big Ten brings some level of inherent value. But the true short-term financial incentive for bringing these schools along has everything to do with the carriage fees the conference-specific network can command.

Before adding its West Coast cohort, the Big Ten Network was only able to charge out-of-market fees to the millions of pay-TV households in California, Oregon, and Washington. Additionally, there was no requirement that the network be included in any basic cable tier.

Now, the network can charge in-market rates for those households, which are often several times more than the out-of-market rate. Better yet for Fox, they can now charge a higher in-market rate to more households than before with the inclusion of the channel on pay-TV providers’ basic tiers.

It’s not just Fox and the Big Ten doing this. Look no further than the ACC’s expansion into California and Texas as another example. While it was somewhat a move made out of desperation for the conference, it also allowed Disney to start charging in-market rates for the ACC Network in two of the country’s largest TV markets.

Such is the reality for college sports in its chaotic era. Fans continue to lose out on the regional rivalries that once made the sport great, so insecure university presidents, conference commissioners, and television executives can make sure their school or conference has a seat at the Big Kid Table when all is set and done. The losers? The fans, who end up paying more for a diminished product.

But hey, for now? At least fans in southern California can watch UCLA play a heated conference rivalry against Minnesota this weekend.

[ Silicon Valley ]

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