BTN & TWC: No Talks of "Any Substance"

If you're a Time Warner Cable (TWC) customer, hope for the addition of the Big Ten Network this year is fading at a rapid rate. Mark Silverman, president of the Big Ten Network (BTN) addressed media members (I'm not sure how I was invited but I was) during a teleconference today and provided an update on cable negotiations. During the call, Silverman spoke specifically about Time Warner and gave this cold water quote:

"With Time Warner, we have not have conversations of any substance for several months now."

Lovely. We knew this weeks ago, but we didn't know it hasn't changed one iota. Good to also know that my cable company, Time Warner, is so vested in my interest that they either don't have the time to chat with the BTN or they bring such ridiculous offers that they're termed, in so many words, unsubstantive.

It was clear during the call that Silverman thought the BTN and TWC were the furthest apart of all the major cable operators. Even Comcast, Charter and Mediacom are in active talks and recently. Perhaps things will change but it will have to happen fast as mid-December is the soft date for deals to be finalized to carry the network this year.