The television schedule for the 2007-08 basketball season was released earlier today and the Big Ten Network is slotted to broadcast 15 of the Hoosiers' 31 regular season games plus two exhibition games.
The first game of the season not to appear on the BTN will be on Nov. 27 when IU takes on Georgia Tech in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. ESPN and ESPN2 are scheduled to broadcast at least eight games including the Georgia Tech game and the lone IU-Purdue game on Feb. 19 while CBS owns the rights to four prominent Hoosier games: Dec. 9 versus Kentucky, Jan. 13 versus Illinois, Jan. 26 versus Connecticut and Feb. 10 at Ohio State.
Basically, every game that used to appear on local television through ESPN Plus has now been relegated to the Big Ten Network. For many people, this means they will have to switch their cable or satellite provider to see the Hoosiers on the hardcourt this season. The Big Ten Network and Comcast (which takes over Insight Communications beginning next year) - one of the major cable providers in Indiana - have failed to reach an agreement thus far regarding which package the network should appear on. It appears that many Hoosier fans will be tuning into Don Fischer this winter if no agreement is reached.
To put it simply: This sucks.
Even if the BTN is put on the classic package or whatever package is the most widely distributed - and there are no indications that that will happen - what about the people who don't want to shell out the $40 a month for 60 channels - 10 of which they actually will watch? Don't they deserve to have access to their Hoosier basketball, too? Access they've enjoyed for years and years.
I'm intrigued by the idea of the BTN. I want it to be successful. But I don't see people warming kindly to these changes, and I don't see the BTN gaining a significant national audience beyond the Midwest. People in Slippery Rock, Colorado care about the Old Oaken Bucket game about as much as Hoosiers care about the Rocky Mountain Showdown. There is not a national market for this network, and the sooner the BTN recognizes this the better.
So if you haven't found a friend who subscribes to the Super Deluxe Sports Ticket Package, better start looking now. Or start scouting the local sports bars.
