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Big Ten Network
Big Ten Network.svg
Big Ten Network Logo
Launched August 30, 2007
Owned by Big Ten Conference (51%)
Fox Cable Networks (News Corporation) (49%)
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
720p (HDTV)
Slogan This is Big Ten Country, This is Where it Lives
Country United States
Language English
Broadcast area United States
Canada
Headquarters Chicago, Illinois
Sister channel(s) Fox Sports (broadcast operation)
FSN (North, Wisconsin, Midwest, Detroit, Indiana, Ohio & Pittsburgh)
Fox College Sports
Website BigTenNetwork.com
See also External links
Availability
Satellite
DirecTV (U.S.) 610 (SD/HD)
extra football game channels SD: 609, 611, 612, 615
extra football game channels HD: same plus -1
1610 Video on demand
Dish Network (U.S.) 439 (SD)
9500 (HD)
extra football game channels SD: 5440-5443
extra football game channels HD: 9501-9504
Shaw Direct (Canada) 410 (SD)
265 (HD)
extra football game channels : varies
Cable
Available on most U.S. cable systems Main: BTN Channel Finder
Overflow: BTN Game Finder
Shaw Communications (Canada) See above
Rogers Communications (Canada) See above
IPTV
AT&T U-verse (U.S.) 650 (SD)
1650 (HD)
extra football game channels : 1651-1654
Internet television
Big Ten Ticket (by subscription, outside of US and Canada) www.BigTenTicket.com

The Big Ten Network (sometimes unofficially abbreviated BTN) is an American television sports network dedicated to the Big Ten Conference. Available to approximately 73 million[1] households nationwide in the United States and Canada, it is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering a single college conference.

The network is a 20-year joint project of the Big Ten Conference, and Fox Cable Networks (a division of News Corporation).

It is headquartered in the former Montgomery Ward & Co. catalog building at 600 W. Chicago Avenue in Chicago, Illinois.[2]

The Big Ten Network is majority-owned (51%) by the Big Ten Conference, with Fox Cable Networks holding a minority interest (49%).[3] Fox handles the administration and affiliate sales operations of the channel. The conference officially announced the formation of the network on June 21, 2006.

The network, which launched August 30, 2007, operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, showcasing a wide array of classic-to-current sports and televising more Olympic sporting events and women’s sports than has ever been aired on any other network. Original programming highlights activities and accomplishments of the Big Ten universities. Each year, the network offers approximately 35-40 football games, 105 regular season men’s basketball games; 55 women’s basketball games; dozens of Big Ten Championship events; nightly studio shows; coaches’ shows; and classic games. The network has a commitment to "event equality", meaning that it will produce and distribute an equal number of men's and women's events across all platforms, within three years of being on the air.[4]

The network currently has agreements with more than 250 providers. It is carried nationally on DirecTV and Dish Network, and regionally on AT&T U-Verse, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, Insight Communications, Mediacom Communications, Time Warner Cable,Verizon FiOS, Cable One and Cablevision. The network is available in 19 of the 20 largest U.S. media markets.[5]

Contents

Executive personnel

Mark Silverman is the first President of the network. He was formerly a General Manager and Senior Vice President of ABC Cable Networks Group.[6]

On-air talent

Studio

  • Dave Revsine[7], who spent 11 years at ESPN
  • Mike Hall, winner of the first season of ESPN's Dream Job
  • Rick Pizzo
  • Brent Stover
  • Lisa Cornwell
  • Kyle Brady, Big Ten Football Saturday: Pre-Game Show

Announcers

  • Gus Johnson, known as "the voice of March Madness"
  • Thom Brennaman, who has called the BCS, NFL and MLB on FOX
  • Wayne Larrivee, long time Big Ten play-by-play announcer and former voice of the Chicago Bears, Cubs, Bulls, Kansas City Chiefs and current voice for the Green Bay Packers Radio Network
  • Tom Hamilton, long time Big Ten play-by-play announcer and current radio voice of the Cleveland Indians
  • Dave Revsine
  • Mark Neely, current TV play-by-play announcer for the San Diego Padres
  • Matt Devlin, current TV play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Raptors
  • Mike Crispino, also works for MSG
  • Rod Woodson, former Purdue All-American defensive back and current analyst for NFL Network
  • Brian Barnhart, voice of the Fighting Illini
  • Leah Secondo
  • Brent Stover
  • Tracy Warren
  • Tom Werme

Football

Analysts

Men's Basketball

Analysts

Women's Basketball

Analysts
  • Stephanie White, former Purdue player
  • Mary Murphy, former Northwestern player and Wisconsin coach
  • Vera Jones, former Indiana assistant coach
  • Brenda VanLengen, former Nebraska coach

Baseball

Analysts
  • Cal Eldred, former major leaguer and Iowa pitcher
  • Danan Hughes, former Iowa outfielder and NFL wide receiver
  • Scott Pose, Iowa native and former MLB outfielder

Sideline reporters

Ice Hockey

Play-By-Play
  • Matt Rosen
Analyst
  • Rob Andringa

Wrestling

Announcers

Live sports coverage

Football

  • Through the creation of the Big Ten Network, every home Big Ten football game is televised
  • Each team is guaranteed to make a minimum of two appearances on the network per year and one of those must be a conference game
  • The network televises approximately 35-40 football games each fall and all of them are available in high definition

Men's Basketball

  • Through the creation of the Big Ten Network, every home Big Ten basketball game is produced
  • Each Big Ten men's basketball team makes approximately 10-20 appearances a season on the Big Ten Network
  • The network televises approximately 60-65 in-conference match-ups, plus selected Big Ten Tournament contests, and virtually all of those games are produced in high definition
  • The network streams a select number of non-conference and exhibition games live on www.BigTenNetwork.com
  • The network has a set on-site at the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis, with anchors providing coverage and analysis of all the action

Women's Basketball

  • Each Big Ten women's basketball team makes approximately 8-10 appearances on the Big Ten Network
  • In all, the network televises approximately 50-60 regular season games plus approximately nine Big Ten Basketball Tournament games and all of these games are produced in high definition
  • The network streams dozens of games live on www.BigTenNetwork.com, giving Big Ten women’s basketball the most exposure of any conference in the country
  • The network has a set on-site at the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis, with anchors providing coverage and analysis of all the action

Baseball

  • The Big Ten Network televises approximately 25 baseball games each spring, all in HD
  • Each Big Ten baseball team makes approximately 5-8 appearances on the Big Ten Network
  • In 2009, the network televised the Big Ten Baseball Tournament from start to finish

Olympic Sports

  • The Big Ten Network televises more than 170 NCAA-sponsored events in both men's and women's sports such as hockey, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, track and field, swimming and diving, etc.

Big Ten Championships

  • The Big Ten Network televises 19 Big Ten Championships and Tournaments, including baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s field hockey, men’s and women’s golf, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track & field and men’s wrestling.[8]

Online streams

In the 2009-10 school year, BTN began charging $2.99 per event for online feeds.[9]

Regular shows

  • Big Ten Tonight: Big Ten Network's signature show, it's a weekly thirty-minute show similar to ESPN's SportsCenter only offering highlights and discussion of Big Ten football, basketball and other sports. Dave Revsine, Rick Pizzo, Mike Hall and Lisa Cornwell anchor. Other reporters and analysts appear depending on the sport being discussed. Airs Sundays at 10 PM ET.
  • Big Ten Football Saturday: On Saturdays during football season, the day's games are discussed and highlights are shown. There's the pre-game, halftime, and post-game editions for all games. Dave Revsine hosts and Gerry DiNardo (who they call "Coach") and Howard Griffith provide analysis.
  • Big Ten Friday Tailgate: 90 minute light hearted and irreverent show airing on Friday nights that looks at campus life surrounding football weekends. The hosts are Mike Hall, Charissa Thompson, and Chicago area improv actors Jordan Klepper and Steve Waltien.
  • Big Ten Tip-Off Show: A pre-game show in which the day's basketball games are discussed. Hosted by Dave Revsine. Gene Keady, Jimmy Jackson, Tim Doyle and Kendall Gill provide analysis.
  • Coaches Q&A: Excerpts from the week's press conferences
  • The Big Ten's Greatest Games: Classic football and basketball games, usually with the meaningless parts edited out to fit time constraints.
  • The Big Ten Women's Show: Covers women's sports throughout the conference. Airs at 10 PM ET on Mondays.
  • The Big Ten Quad: a weekly sports discussion show with Big Ten legends.
  • Big Ten Cookout: a half hour cooking/tailgate show that airs live on Saturdays at 10 AM ET. It is hosted by Melanie Collins from a different Big Ten campus every week. The chefs are Julius Russell and Ben Walanka.
  • The Big Ten's Best: a weekly countdown show with lists of the top 10 Big Ten teams or players in a certain category, such as "best running backs of the 1990's" or "best quarterbacks of the 1980's". It is hosted by Charissa Thompson.
  • Various magazine shows and coach's shows.
  • University Showcase - a program block of non-sports campus produced programs. Each school has equal time.

New football shows in 2009

The network will debut four new football shows, beginning in September 2009, dedicated specifically to Big Ten football. They are:

Big Ten Football: Breakdown Every week, Big Ten coaches and players review the previous week’s game film, looking for the positives and the negatives. Network analysts will give fans a look at the nuances of the game and what affected the teams’ success. Airs Tuesdays at 10 PM ET.

Big Ten Football: Sites & Sounds The show includes segments from press conferences, media interviews and the games, as well as other behind-the-scenes footage,s hosted from the network's Chicago studios. Airs Wednesdays at 10 PM ET.

Big Ten Football: Behind the Schemes The network's resident head coaches go head-to-head each week, breaking down film and putting together game plans for the upcoming week’s games. Airs Thursdays at 10 PM ET.

Big Ten Football… & Beyond The show previews the weekend’s games with reports from each Big Ten stadium and takes a look at key national match-ups that could impact Big Ten postseason plans. Airs Fridays at 10 PM ET.

Program milestones

  • First program: Big Ten Tonight, August 30, 2007 at 8 p.m. ET
  • First live football games: Four regional college football telecasts on September 1 at noon ET, including Appalachian State's historic upset win over Michigan
  • First women's sports event: Syracuse at Michigan State, soccer, September 2
  • First men's non-revenue sports event: UCLA at Indiana, soccer, September 2

Notable games

  • September 1, 2007: Appalachian State vs. Michigan (Football). In the first football game ever broadcast by the network, Football Championship Subdivision team Appalachian State pulls off a 34-32 upset over the then-number-five Michigan, blocking a field goal on the game's final play.
  • November 17, 2007: Indiana vs. Purdue (Football). A last-second field goal propels Indiana to its first bowl game in 13 years for their late coach Terry Hoeppner.
  • February 24, 2008: Indiana vs. Northwestern (Men's Basketball). The Hoosiers edge the Wildcats in the first game under interim head coach Dan Dakich, after a scandal involving unauthorized telephone calls to recruits forced Kelvin Sampson to resign. Tom Crean later became the permanent successor and Dakich later became an analyst for the Big Ten Network.
  • March 14, 2008: Minnesota vs. Indiana (Men's Basketball). Trailing by 1 with 1.5 seconds left, Minnesota's Blake Hoffarber hauls in a 75-foot inbounds pass, spins away from two defenders and nails an off-balance desperation heave to beat the Hoosiers.

Big Ten Network HD

Big Ten Network HD is a 720p high definition simulcast of Big Ten Network which launched simultaneously to the regular channel. It is available nationally on DirecTV and Dish Network; and regionally on Cablevision, AT&T U-verse, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, Verizon FiOs, Cox Communications, Mediacom, and several other cable television systems. In Canada, it is available nationally on Shaw Direct and regionally on Shaw Communications. All of its original programs and studio shows are in HD, as well as most of its sporting events and some of its school-produced coaches and campus shows. Big Ten Network HD utilizes stylized pillarboxes for programs not available in HD. The channel has announced it will produce all of its football games in HD in 2009.[5]

Football overflow feeds

Many times on football Saturdays, the Big Ten Network produces multiple games that air at the same time. The network designates one game as its national game, which is shown on the main channel on satellite systems. The remaining games air on the main channel in the local markets and on the overflow channels in the remaining markets. Most cable systems inside the Big Ten's eight states offer these Big Ten Network overflow or "out-of-market" feeds. All the overflow feeds are available nationally on DirecTV and Dish Network; and regionally on AT&T U-verse, many Comcast systems, and several other cable systems. Some systems offer only some of the overflow feeds. Other systems don't offer any overflow feeds at all. DirecTV and Dish Network offer all games in HD. However, some cable systems offer only the game on the main channel in HD and the rest in SD.

Big Ten Network On Demand

Big Ten Network On Demand, offers viewers BTN's programming such as Big Ten Tonight, The Journey, Big Ten Quad and Big Ten Short Stories, original specials, press conferences and highlights specific to each school, as well as magazine and coaches' shows. DirecTV and Dish Network subscribers get content for all 11 schools, while cable customers only receive content for the school(s) in their state. Most content is also offered in HD. The channel's website, www.BigTenNetwork.com, also has a large amount of video on demand content for all 11 schools which is free to all internet users.

Carriage

Carriage negotiations with several major cable companies were stalled for several months because the cable providers wanted to put the channel on a digital sports tier and charge only customers who wanted it, and Big Ten Network wanted to put it on extended basic so that cable customers would not have to pay extra for it. However, when the nation's largest cable provider Comcast reached a deal on June 19, 2008,[10] (and began adding the channel on August 15, 2008), the other major providers in The Big Ten Region (Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable, etc.) followed suit.

Carriage deal agreements

2007

DirecTV was the only major television provider to carry the channel at launch.[11] Dish Network added it a week later.[12] 250 small cable systems carried it at launch as well.

2008

In late summer and early autumn 2008, several large cable companies in The Big Ten Region reached carriage agreements with The Big Ten Network. With these announcements, The Big Ten Network now reaches every major cable TV provider in the Big Ten Region.

  • On August 25, 2008, it was announced in a joint statement that Time Warner Cable and The Big Ten Network reached a carriage deal. Time Warner now carries the channel on its expanded basic service in the eight states where Big Ten schools operate.[15][16]
  • On September 30, 2008, Broadstripe added the channel to its systems in Michigan.[20]

2009

  • On June 23, 2009, Cablevision added the channel in both standard and high definition.[21]
  • On August 25, 2009, Atlantic Broadband and BTN reached a carriage agreement. The channel will be added in standard definition and high definition on September 1, 2009 to customers in central and northern Pennsylvania.[22]

Canadian carriage

In September 2008, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission officially approved a request by Shaw Communications to allow carriage of the Big Ten Network in Canada on digital cable television. Although CTVglobemedia brought up concerns about it competing with TSN (a major Canadian sports network, which airs some college sports), it was determined that it wouldn't be competitive due to its consideration as a "very niche service".[23] Big Ten Network became available to Shaw customers on December 3, 2008. Canadian satellite provider Shaw Direct also carries the Big Ten Network. The channel became available on Rogers Communications in Ontario and New Brunswick on October 22, 2009. [24]

Similar channels

Other channels that show only college sports include:

External links

References

  1. ^ http://www.bigtennetwork.com/corporate/index.asp
  2. ^ Chicago Business News, Analysis & Articles | Former Ward's building to house Big Ten Network | Crain's
  3. ^ Pac-10 Isn't Planning to Launch a Network - Los Angeles Times
  4. ^ Big Ten Announces Commitment to Event Equality for Men and Women on Big Ten Network :: National network pledges to equal number of men's and women's events by third year
  5. ^ a b "Big Ten Network Kicks Off Third Season: Live football coverage begins Thursday night". CBS Interactive. 2009-09-01. http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/090109aab.html. Retrieved 2009-09-03.  
  6. ^ Mark Silverman Named President of Big Ten Network :: Former Disney-ABC Executive to Lead
  7. ^ News - Big Ten Network
  8. ^ Big Ten Network Fact Sheet
  9. ^ BTN Online streaming events - FAQ's
  10. ^ Big Ten Network Press Release June 19, 2008
  11. ^ The Big Ten Conference Announces Media Agreements Increasing National Coverage of Big Ten Sports
  12. ^ DISH Network Adds Big Ten Network
  13. ^ GazetteOnline.com, Mediacom, BTN reach a deal.
  14. ^ Mediacom Communications to Launch Big Ten Network
  15. ^ Time Warner Cable to carry Big Ten Network on expanded basic this fall
  16. ^ Time Warner, Big Ten Network Strike Carriage Deal
  17. ^ Charter reaches deal with Big Ten Network
  18. ^ Brighthouse and Big Ten Network close to deal
  19. ^ Cox Cable finalizes Big Ten Network deal
  20. ^ Broadstripe Delivers Big Ten Network in Michigan
  21. ^ Optimum Cable - Sports Pack Information
  22. ^ Multichannel News August 25, 2009 Atlantic Broadband Catches Big Ten Network Deal - Pact Kicks Off In Time For Carrier's Keystone Customers To Watch Penn State Action
  23. ^ "Shaw gets okay to distribute Big Ten Network". DigitalHome.ca. http://www.digitalhome.ca/content/view/2803/279/. Retrieved 2008-09-26.  
  24. ^ Big Ten Network Press Release October 22, 2009 Big Ten Network Now Available on Rogers Cable
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