Big Ten Network...

i am so sick and tired of this ongoing comcast vs the big ten network battle in the media. for those of you in areas that are serviced by time warner, im sure you are also feeling my pain.

to those of you who are new to the situation, heres a quick rundown....

the big ten network is a channel that broadcasts programming involving sports from the big ten conference. it came into being in late august, and shows many conference football games, basketball games, other irrelevant sporting events, some coaches shows, and some academic nonsense. the two biggest cable companies in the world, time warner and comcast, have refused to put the BTN on their normal cable lineup (like ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN classic, ESPN news, FSN....) and instead want it to be on a sports tier that you have to purchase every year. the BTN thinks this is bullshit (as do i), and wants it on their regular channel lineup. talks have stalemated, and most of the cable subscribers have to go to bars to watch their teams play. direct tv, dish network, insight cable, and WOW are a few of the many outlets that currently provide the BTN to their subscribers.

i am moving in less than two weeks, and podunk chardon, ohio doesnt offer insight or WOW, and i will be damned if i am going to miss a single solitary ohio state basketball game this coming season - so i have to get a dish. thanks time warner, thanks for nothing.

time warner and comcast will have you believe that the BTN is forcing their programming down your throat by making you pay the extra ONE DOLLAR A MONTH that it would cost for the cable companies to carry this programming. WRONG.

i am currently paying for a tv guide channel, five home shopping channels, five cartoon-only channels, twelve channels devoted to animals, three channels that are devoted to music but only show reality programming, a channel that shows nothing but game shows, a channel that shows nothing but soap operas, a channel focused on black entertainment, a local channel out of chicago, a local events channel, three c-spans, ten other news outlets, and countless other crap channels that i would never, under any circumstances, ever watch if my life depended on it.

now here is this new channel that focuses on something that appeals to the masses in our region of the country - more so than any home shopping network ever could. it has shows and sporting events that are relevant to the people who live in ohio, michigan, pennsylvania, indiana, iowa, wisconsin, and illinois - and it costs only one little tiny dollar a month.......

...........and we cant have it.

tell ya what - how about you give me my big ten network, and shut the hell up. you can stop running your smear campaigns, because when you take the side opposite of something that offers big ten football and basketball and you announce it to all of big ten country, you are going to limp home with a black eye and missing a few teeth before too long.

i want my buckeye football and i want my buckeye basketball, and i am more than willing to pay you one dollar a month for it.