Time Warner's feed of the BTNOhio State announced yesterday the starting times for the home OOC games, all starting at noon and two of them on the BTN. Youngstown St. and Troy have been picked up by the Network, while the Ohio U. game will be on ESPN or ESPN2.
This could be one of the most highly anticipated Buckeye teams in recent memory and as of right now, Time Warner subscribers will only get to see two of the first four games. Throw in the fact that BTN will also pick up one of Ohio State's conference games and once again local fans will only get 75% of the 2008 season.
As a season ticket holder and a lucky Cbus resident who gets the BTN, this does not affect me, but I think it is a damn shame if Time Warner deprives Buckeye fans of any more football games. As Jason pointed out last month, Time Warner is the lone cable giant still holding out after a deal was struck with Comcast.
If Time Warner is your cable provider, I would start pounding them with phone calls and emails now, or look to switch providers, as I do not trust them to get a deal done. I know the YSU and Troy games may not be that sexy, but it is still Ohio State football and we only get that 13 times a year, there should be no reason why we miss any games.
Comments
It's the Big Ten that has deprived people of seeing OSU games. Before the advent of the BTN - which has to be one of the worst-run networks I've ever seen - folks could get all the Ohio State games they wanted through cable and broadcast TV. Nobody was left out.
Enter BTN. Now, 60% of Ohio can't see each Buckeye game, but it's Time Warner's fault?
I applaud Time Warner for trying to hold out against a money-grab, and a bad deal.
"I applaud Time Warner for trying to hold out against a money-grab, and a bad deal."
You applaud Time Warner for depriving the fans of Buckeye Football? Unbelieveable...
"Before the advent of the BTN - which has to be one of the worst-run networks I’ve ever seen - folks could get all the Ohio State games they wanted through cable and broadcast TV. Nobody was left out."
Bull! I had to revert to pay-per-view for the low level and regional games. Now I can get them free on BTN. The basketball coverage is huge too. No more paying for ESPN Full-Court. I get it all on Network, ESPN, and BTN.
I don't understand the rub against the BTN. If anyone looks down the road ten years you will see that the BTN was a fabulous idea that the SEC, Pac-10, Big XII, Big East, and ACC are sure to follow. We've got the jump on the rest of all of college sports!
Being the first has come with many growing pains, but if this is such a bad idea why are the SEC and Big 12 already pushing hard for their networks?
In the end the positives will far outweigh the negatives. I love watching pregame and postgame shows dedcated to the Big Ten rather than the few seconds each team gets on ESPN. I expect the quality to get better over time just like any other start-up network. I just like knowing that I can see any Big Ten game I want, in HD no less.
This is lame. You can't applaud TW for holding out because BTN dropped the price to a reasonable level for subscribers (something like 85 cents, right?). So this "holding out" by TW really is depriving most fans in Ohio the chance to see their favorite team.
And as for me, I'm waiting for Bright House in metro Detroit to jump on board. I would join Comcast, but BH is the only cable provider for my area, even though I can drive 5 minutes down the road and people have Comcast. It's ridiculous.
Joe, I can see you standing up for Time Warner, if they were a local independent cable provider, but since they profited just over a billion dollars in the fourth quarter last year, I can't do that.
Every Ohio State football game needs to be seen in Columbus, I don't care who is to blame.
"....since they profited just over a billion dollars in the fourth quarter last year, I can’t do that."
No company is under any obligation, to anyone, to use their profits for any purpose other than to generate future profits, and return an investment to their shareholders. Companies exist purely to make money, and the BTN is a bad financial deal.
The dirty little secret here is that Time Warner isn't suffering from this at all. The response from Ohio State fans has been rather muted. The smaller networks jumped on the BTN's bad deal in hopes it would hurt Time Warner, but it hasn't. Time Warner's market share remains intact - it's increased, actually - and no villagers are standing outside the palace gates with pitchforks.
"Every Ohio State football game needs to be seen in Columbus, I don’t care who is to blame."
On that, we are agreed. Sadly, all the games were seen in Columbus, prior to the advent of the BTN.
Spoken like a true supply-sider.
Joe,
You are weird guy.
I have Time Warner in Cleveland and will be dropping it for satellite if they don't have BTN by August 30th.
Why wait Poe? Get out of the 80s and get a dish.
Brian wrote:
"Spoken like a true supply-sider."
Welcome to the (mostly) free market. If you don't like Time Warner's decision, walk, and get service through someone foolish enough to knuckle under to the BTN. You're a paying customer, and you have that right. Time Warner has every right to risk their bottom line, and their profitability, by fighting this battle with the BTN as long as they like. All they owe you is the service and channels for which you signed an agreement - nothing more - and the BTN was not in that agreement.
I'm a distributist, not a supply-sider. :) Nice try, though.
Poe wrote:
"I have Time Warner in Cleveland and will be dropping it for satellite if they don’t have BTN by August 30th."
Precisely my point. If a sufficient number of Time Warner's customers feel as you do, Time Warner will bend to market pressure and make a deal. Whether for good or ill, Time Warner is doing just fine without bending over and taking it from the BTN.
I have no problem with anyone who's upset with Time Warner for not carrying the BTN; you're a customer, and you have the right to take your money and walk, and make your sentiments known. I do, though, have a problem with the notion that Time Warner is at fault because 60% of Ohioans can't watch four Ohio State games a year.
This problem did not exist before the BTN, but it exists now.
Keynes, FTW.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K...