It's not enough for the Big Ten that their States' taxpayers send tens of millions of tax dollars to the schools every year at the point of a gun. Whatever millions they're getting is just not enough for them.
So they, mimicing the NFL, have decided that they are going to get more, and are selling their TV rights to the "Big 10" Network--which will give them more money than they're getting from other sports-casting or commercial networks.
Well, at least the NFL isn't taking the money at the point of a gun, in most cases.
But let there be no doubt about this: it's all about the money, and all about getting more money.
But then there are the laughable spinners:
Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications, two major cable carriers in Wisconsin, are reporting they have lost thousands of cable subscribers, a development some tie to consumers upset that they can't get the Big Ten Network and the NFL Network
Really?
"The impact of not having the NFL Network or the Big Ten Network has been non-existent," said Alex Dudley, a Time Warner spokesman in New York.
Anita Lamont, a Charter Communications spokesman, echoed that comment, saying her firm had not seen a loss of customers due solely to people unhappy about not being able to purchase the two sports networks.
Eventually, the JS report gets to the facts:
Time Warner Cable said Wednesday it had lost 83,000 subscribers in the three months ended Sept. 30, and another 57,000 in the three months prior. Time Warner has about 600,000 households in eastern Wisconsin
So the "Big Ten" and "NFL" channels, which only had an impact on televised Wisconsin and Packers games in the last 2 weeks, have caused 83K losses in the last FISCAL QUARTER?
What a crock.
Richard Greenfield, a cable television analyst with Pali Research, said this week that "while the pain inflicted on the cable industry for not carrying the Big Ten Network during college football season has been moderate, we believe the pain is set to reach a whole new level as college basketball season tips off in November."
Unfortunately, Mr. Greenfield could not be reached for further comment on this utterly inane pronouncement.
One more thing: competition is good. Time Warner has had a virtual monopoly, and it's nice to see them getting stung.
Charter is a whole different story; they are known for absolutely horrible customer "service" and absolutely clueless field installations teams.
"But let there be no doubt about this: it's all about the money, and all about getting more money."
ReplyDeleteMy cable prices keep rising, and I keep getting absolute zero choice in the channels they provide in their lineup. THEN, Charter decides not to offer us NFL Network or the BTN in the regular lineup and threatens to instead make us pay more money per month for a special tier. Ridiculous.
It really is all about the money.
"The impact of not having the NFL Network or the Big Ten Network has been non-existent," said Alex Dudley, a Time Warner spokesman in New York.
ReplyDeleteAnita Lamont, a Charter Communications spokesman, echoed that comment, saying her firm had not seen a loss of customers due solely to people unhappy about not being able to purchase the two sports networks."
This is a joke, right? Of course Charter and Time Warner would never admit that customers are dumping their service because they fail to include NFL network and BTN on their basic packages! But since their PR skills are so great (certainly outweighing their negotiation skills), please explain to me the other reason 83,000 TW subscribers have switched to dish/direcTV?
Uhhhnnnnnn....duh.
ReplyDeleteThe football controversy erupted about 2 weeks ago.
You telling me that all 83K left in the last 14 days?
The vast majority of those dumping TWCable are moving to the SBC offering, or to dishTV for what may be a better deal.
But they aren't moving (except VERY recently) over '10' or 'nfl.'
I think the big ten more so than the NFL has some responsibilities to the taxpayers of their states to provide reasonable TV access to their sports. The money in college sports is so over the top that they pretty much ought to let the players in on it soon and just call it what it is, a professional enterprise.
ReplyDelete