[NU Sports] Is the ESPN Game Plan worth it?

[Jonathan Hodges]

My guess is that it's a no as well, but you can always check here:
http://www.bigtennetwork.com/

Basically at this point the BTN is carried by DirecTV and a bunch of
minor/small town cable operators.  They do not have an agreement with any of
the big cable companies (Comcast, TimeWarner, MediaComm, Cablevision, etc.),
and the BTN and Comcast have had a war of words over the past few months as
well.

It will probably be next summer before things happen with a lot of these
cable companies.  The NFL Network tried a similar play - requiring its
channel to be carried on the basic tier of service while the operators
wanted it on the sports tier.  After about a year (with many carriers
refusing to carry it at all), the network gave in and allowed its channel to
be put on the sports tier - which virtually every operator did.  Note that
Comcast did carry the NFL Network on the digital standard tier but then
moved it to the sports tier (extra charge) last year.  I expect that a
similar situation will happen with the BTN.

The fact is that the BTN cannot survive without its largest fan base - and
that is here in the Chicago area.  Alums from virtually every B10 school
congregate here and unless they get Comcast and RCN to carry the BTN they
are without their largest market.  The entire city of Chicago is not going
to switch to DirecTV for one football game (especially since many of them
can't due to dish restrictions).

Jonathan

On 8/2/07, neonrye at aol.com <neonrye at aol.com> wrote:
>
> Anybody know what the story is with my beloved Cablevision in NYC metro
> area and BTN?
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Jonathan Hodges" <jonathanwhodges at gmail.com>
>
> Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 06:35:21
> To:"Jim Leonard" <jleonard518 at yahoo.com>
> Cc:nwu-sports at tssi.com
> Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Is the ESPN Game Plan worth it?
>
>
> The short answer is no - since ESPN GamePlan will no longer carry many Big
> Ten games (no B10 home games in fact).
>
> The pecking order of B10 home games is now: ABC, ESPN/ESPN2, then the BTN
> will carry the remainder of the B10 home games.  This means some games
> will
> be multiplexed - in other words will be on at the same time and your local
> operator will have the choice of either carrying multiple games (as the
> case
> will probably be on DirecTV) or carrying one "regional" game.  Other games
> may then be played on tape delay.  It sounds like DirecTV will be the only
> one offering multiple simultaneous game feeds starting out.
>
> In terms of away games, it's all up to that conference.  The only non B10
> home game for NU is at EMU which will be carried by ESPNU - which is on
> DirecTV's sports tier (extra charge).  Other than that all NU games will
> be
> on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 or the BTN.
>
> Moving to DirecTV is the only option to get NU games for the vast majority
> of people.  For those of us in the Chicago area, even us in Evanston, we
> are
> out in the cold if we don't switch to satellite (which many are not able
> to
> do if you live in an apt. building and can't get approval for the dish).
> DirecTV is cheaper, apparently has better customer service, and has the
> BTN,
> but almost everyone is locked into the likes of Comcast - who is embattled
> with the BTN over which tier of service the network will be placed into.
>
> My personal opinion is that both sides are to blame - the BTN for their
> stubborn insistence that they are a national network and should be on a
> normal tier (they're regional whether we like it or not) - and
> Comcast/TimeWarner/etc. for not making a deal happen for the sake of their
> customers.  I know many of us are more than willing to pay extra to watch
> NU
> football and if any pay option was offered it is much better than leaving
> us
> in the dark.
>
> Jonathan
>
>
> On 8/2/07, Jim Leonard <jleonard518 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > Fellow Wildcat Faithful,
> >
> > In a few weeks I am making the switch to DirecTV so that I will have
> > access to the Big Ten Network. Comcast may ultimately carry it, but I
> have
> > learned over the years not to trust that company.
> >
> > So now the question is, do I pay the additional $110 for a season of
> ESPN
> > Game Plan. Prior to the BTN, traditional cable would get you ABC, ESPN,
> and
> > ESPN2. Then, the additional Big Ten games might be on ESPNU and ESPN+
> which
> > you needed the Game Plan to access. With the new BTN network, what is
> the
> > pecking order of which games will be available on which networks?
> >
> > I have looked at information on the BTN website, the DirecTV website,
> and
> > the ESPN website and no one seems to be able to explain this. Any help
> would
> > be appreciated.
> >
> > Victory & Honor,
> > Jim
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> ____________________________________________________________________________________
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> updated
> > for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games.
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> >
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> >
>
>
>
> --
> Jonathan W. Hodges
> 1237 Emerson St Apt 2
> Evanston, IL  60201-3577
> (847) 736-2449
> jonathanwhodges at gmail.com
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>



-- 
Jonathan W. Hodges
1237 Emerson St Apt 2
Evanston, IL  60201-3577
(847) 736-2449
jonathanwhodges at gmail.com