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.

Weird how college football works. The Rose Bowl is guaranteed for Ohio State but, if possible, we'd just rather bypass it altogether. Not that the Rose Bowl is some second rate option but Ohio State still harbors title hopes and rightfully so. That goal became a touch easier following our win in Ann Arbor and because of two important losses from teams ranked ahead. Oregon lost earlier in the week to unranked Arizona and Oklahoma went down to Texas Tech late Saturday. The shake up allowed Ohio State to move up to #5 in the latest BCS Rankings.

To state the obvious, there is still work to do. A lot, in fact, and the downside of this is our hope rests on the shoulders of others. We lost the opportunity to control our own destiny last week but we'll feel no shame battling another one loss team for the championship (unless Kansas wins out and even then, we still won't feel bad). In order for that to happen, there are some key points to remember:

• We only need to get to #2 in the BCS.
• Kansas and Missouri play each other this coming weekend.
• The Big Twelve and the SEC have Championship games.

Before we move on any further, it's important to look at the schedules:

• LSU: Arkansas, at SEC Championship Game
• Kansas: Missouri, Big 12 Championship Game
• WVU: Connecticut, Pitt
• Missouri: at Kansas, Big 12 Championship Game
• Ohio St: In the Clubhouse

Like I said earlier, either Kansas or Missouri will be out of the picture next week. The winner will advance to the Big 12 Championship game to face, hopefully, Oklahoma. I say hopefully because the Sooners present the best chance of knocking off the opponent, be it Kansas or Missouri. And, Oklahoma will almost certainly have QB Sam Bradford back after missing most of the Tech game with a concussion.

This is relevant because it gives basis for what needs to happen following Ohio State's rise to #4 in the BCS. In a nutshell, the Buckeyes need any two of the following three (HT: Chris Stassen):

• Big XII out. Oklahoma wins at Oklahoma State to get to the Big 12 Championship game, and then beats the Kansas-Missouri winner.
• Louisiana State Loss. LSU loses in the SEC title game, or to Arkansas the week before the title game.
• West Virginia loss. West Virginia loses to either UConn or Pitt.

Admittingly, the probability on this is low but it's not all that absurd. In fact, I think it's quite likely at least one will happen. There has been talk by some (Mark May) that if Arizona State wins out, they could find themselves back in the thick of things. To squash this from happening, we probably should root for USC to win their remaining games.

It's a lot to process and whatever the case, we're off the a BCS bowl for the fifth time in seven years on JT. More on Michigan tomorrow.

Note: If you find this topic outdated, be sure to realize that the Big Ten Network (BTN) is going to be carrying close to 50% of Buckeye basketball games this year too. If football didn’t make you switch, will basketball?

While much of the dust has settled from the initial wave of disgust, I thought it might be good to evaluate the channel now that it has been airing for almost two months. WOW has closed a deal with the BTN but obviously many fans who are subscribers to the three largest cable providers (which includes Time Warner) are still in the dark. I am a subscriber to the Buckeye Cable System and have received the network from day one. I will outline a few major items of the BTN and encourage any kind of feedback.

Throughout the first two months, the content certainly doesn’t warrant paying an extra dollar a month. The BTN happened to get lucky and carry the Michigan vs. Appalachian State fiasco but truthfully, on a day to day basis, the network is entirely unexciting. There is a reason why only 200 people show for the Northwestern vs. Penn State woman’s soccer game. While it is great to broadcast it, does it warrant an extra charge? I think not.

Content certainly relates to price as Time Warner’s (and Comcast's) biggest gripe is that while it may be a good idea for a few football Saturday’s in the fall, what about the rest of the year? All Big Ten sports are great, but is it reasonable to charge everyone extra to be able to view Wisconsin take on Iowa in Track and Field? Football games do not take place every weekend throughout the entire year.

The BTN will continue to frustrate fans who are not subscribers come basketball season as the BTN already has 7 Buckeye games scheduled to air exclusively on the network. In fact, that number is likely to grow as times and slots are finalized. Games to be aired on BTN include the Illinois game in Columbus as well as the Purdue game in West Lafayette.

Perhaps what bothers me the most is the fashion in which the BTN/Fox is conducting business. At its most basic level, the Big Ten and Fox decided to create a network to make a profit without considering the fans that lose out in the situation. Games are being aired that fans are unable to watch in the confines of their homes because of a deal that can’t be reached with the three main providers. And this alone falls at the feet of the BTN for their inability to sell their own station and offer a agreeable terms. For these negotiations to be going on during a season in which everyone is held captive is nothing short of pathetic regardless of which party is holding out. Clearly the focus is not on the fans.

MGoBlog went over this late last week but many of you probably didn't see it. Some of you will get the Big Ten Network, most will not. That doesn't mean there aren't alternatives which could potentially bring the action into the comforts of your own home. Some of these I have not read up on all that thoroughly but I'm told the potential exists. In fact, some are absolutely relying on one or more of these options.

1. Get DirecTV. It's a pain in the arse and will extract a few Benjamins from your pocket but you'll get the game. You'll also get all the overflow channels too so you will not miss a second, if you so choose.

2. SlingBox. This is a TV streaming device that delivers content to an internet connected computer. In theory, if you have a friend who gets the BTN, you could setup a Slingbox in his/her house and 'sling' the feed to your computer even if you're thousand miles away. But, actually getting a friend to agree to do this is another story entirely. Again, you'll need to pony up some mint to buy the hardware.

3. BitTorrent. Whereas the other options will provide the game live, BitTorrent will deliver the goods but typically hours after completion. The game is uploaded, seeded and downloads can occur. I don't know all the technical jargon but BuckeyePlanet's torrent section is a good resource. One small benefit is the lack of significant, if any, upfront cost (or cost altogether).

What really doesn't appear to be an option is Sopcast. There are folks who have looked into it and the early returns are not good. As for me, I'll either be tailgating or watching at a sports bar (Damon's and BW3s should have the games) while still holding out hope for TWC. By the way, should TWC and BTN come to an agreement, it only takes anywhere from hours to a few days to get the channel actually added and broadcasting on the channel lineup.

If nothing else, you have to applaud the Big Ten Network for their savvy media blitz. They're not only hitting the major, national outlets but also small time bloggers as well. It's smart tactic - attempt to cover all angles and connect, in some small way, to the fans themselves. Other sites have gotten in on this interview thing as well, like Peegs and MGoBlog back in July. I was lucky enough to be given 20-25 minutes on Friday afternoon to hurl some questions at BTN president Mark Silverman. Sweet.

Some caveats before you dive in because this phone interview taught me a few things. It's harder to do than you think and even harder when you're doing it at work. My nervousness (I don't know why) and awkwardness will come through, along with the natural twang I have in my voice even though I was born and raised in central ohio. Weird, I know. Anyway, I've included the actual audio (24 minutes) so you can listen to an only slightly edited discussion. The edits only cleaned up the flow and took out some needless droning by me.

Of course, I asked about a variety of topics some of which are worthy to outline in written word - though there are other interesting points in the audio. I tried my best to not duplicate already asked and answered questions. For instance, I asked about the berth of the network in the first place. Fans, especially those of teams whose football and basketball games were always on, are a little irritated that once available games aren't now for the most part, unless you have DirecTV. Silverman says:

"I think the one piece people haven’t fully realized is how much of their games were moving to lesser distributed platforms. For example, in 2005 there were 10 games on ESPNU and 5 games on ESPN360. Last year, those 5 games on ESPN360 increased to 10. The 10 games that were on ESPNU increased to 17."

Further strengthening the argument, Silverman says there were 5 completely untelevised games in 2005 and that number jumped to 8 last year. It also appeared that disturbing trend would only get worse and affect all teams - no matter their caliber - which is when the conference started to investigate creating its own network. And let's not kid, the creation of a network is also a mechanism the make more money. Which is the primary catalyst is tough to tell.

We then focused on the status of the cable providers. In Ohio, Time Warner Cable (TWC) represents a huge segment - especially in Columbus. Silverman said they are still in active negotiations with TWC though my impression was nothing is imminent. The two sticking points remain the same - tier and price. BTN says the tier is non-negotiable so it was interesting to learn that the $1.10 per subscriber price is not the price on the table for TWC. It is lower than that:

"Time Warner knows that number ($1.10) is higher than what we've offered"

Silverman has said the price isn't even worth discussing if the two sides cannot agree on tier. Reading tea leaves, I'm going to (maybe incorrectly) assume this means Time Warner has agreed to tier and are just haggling over price. Also of note is if talks continue into the season, the channel will be brought to customers midseason. Just because the season begins doesn't mean the negotiations stop. Oh by the way, that whole two free preview games as reported in the Dispatch?

"There's absolutely nothing to that."

The news is even more grim for Comcast customers:

"Comcast is not going to happen, I'm convinced."

This puts a buzzsaw into the rumors on various messageboards that Comcast will bring on the channel in January of 2008. The whole Comcast Channel Guide brouhaha was addressed by Silverman as well.

The nasty thing in all this and what really chaps people is the lack of options. To date, 100 cable companies have agreed to carry BTN - just not anyone of consequence. Right now, it's DirecTV or you're pretty much not going to see the games. Can't blame TWC for that since they didn't create the network or move games to ESPNU/ESPN360. There have been many that cavalierly say 'move to DirecTV' (which Silverman actually uses himself) but it's simply not that easy. Depending on location, there are thousands who cannot get DirecTV at all which leaves no options outside of moving. But we're in the technological age where bandwidth is gigantic so what about live streaming games on the official BTN site?

I don’t’ think we’ll be able to stream games out of the gate. All of our cable deals have restrictions for what you can do online.

Eh, who struck the deal with that restriction? Live streaming would bridge the gap quite nicely...like it does for March Madness and corporate America.

There were other random topics that I'll leave to the audio. They pertain to specifics with the overflow channels, releasing coverage maps much like ABC does, replaying of games and some talk of the wrestling programming. Nevertheless, no matter what side you are on, you're still caught in the middle with very little power.

Meet you at the sports bar, where we can watch the game and discuss the effects a regionalized station will have on recruiting.

A year ago this week, Ohio State found themselves atop the college football rankings. Lose a Heisman Trophy winner, a couple first-round receivers, a talented back and collection of savvy players and it's not surprising to find the Buckeyes down a few notches. The consensus team this year is USC with Ohio State rounding out the top 10 in the ESPN/USAToday Poll. The AP, which has basically no significance in the BCS scheme of things, has us at #11.

I haven't taken the time to size up the rankings from top to bottom but Ohio State's position is appropriate. It would be very hard to make a case that they should be ranked higher - no matter what Playboy's ranking says. Having said that, there is also no reason to leave Ohio State out of the Top 25 completely, which is exactly what this poll voter did. Though he tries to explain himself, the argument is rather unconvincing. Send your Christmas cards to Jon Wilner c/o Mercury News.

Lastly, for those with a little time on your hands Monday evening, Coach Tressel is opening practice for one night only. This night will also serve as the autograph session, which takes place a few hours before the 8pm practice start time. Amazingly, ONN is televising live which indicates we have passed yet another threshold of fanaticism.

While Jim Delaney was embarrassing the conference and himself, I stumbled upon an interesting factoid with respect to the Big Ten Network (BTN). The business principles surrounding this whole thing sort of confused me from the beginning. It thought it was odd some companies - namely DirecTV - were quickly on board while most others were not. In fact, other than DirecTV most of the larger providers (ie: Time Warner, Comcast) have fiercely discussed/debated/argued the process, cost and implementation of the BTN. Then, I realized DirecTV until recently was owned by Rupert Murdoch - the same guy who owns Fox News. And to complete the circle, Fox News owns 49% of the Big Ten Network. No wonder DirecTV was so quick to jump in with the BTN - they essentially shared the same owner.

Maybe this is common knowledge and if so, my bad. I just realized it tonight. In short, the BTN has not signed a single, large, independent satellite or cable provider (I guess you could count ATT Cable). I'm feeling a little less confident about Time Warner now - even if the subscriber cost isn't as out of whack as previously thought.

The Big Ten Network (FAQs) is the thousand pound gorilla that has people up in arms, asking questions, demanding answers and generally driving themselves batty. This is because the old and perfectly fine way of televising conference sporting events has seen its last days as the Big Ten Network (BTN) is basically taking over. But, precious few cable providers have, to date, agreed to carry the channel and that's the problem. Fans may be locked out or forced to move to a different cable subscriber to watch their team.

This issue has been festering for months now but was shoved into the spotlight recently for Ohio State fans. Our first two games of the 2007 football season will be televised only on the Big Ten Network. Mind you, this isn't a situation where Big Ten Network is simply carrying the game on their channel while it plays on ESPN or ABC. It's only on the Big Ten Network. In the Columbus area, only DirecTV has an official agreement with the BTN which leaves the millions of Central Ohio Time Warner, Insight or WOW subscribers on the outside looking in. Those companies are "in negotiations". Many other Big Ten areas are feeling the same anxiety as a MGoBlog highlights. BuckeyePlanet has a great thread going, too.

Mark Silverman, the president of the BTN, has repeatedly said that they have over 40 deals with cable providers. Those 40 are unknown to the best of my knowledge because, along with the DirecTV, only a handful of small providers have announced. For instance, you folks in the Toledo area are golden if you're on Buckeye CableSystems. For those who have not agreed to terms, the heart of the matter seems to be the cost per subscriber charge. The BTN is asking a healthy fee which is out of whack when compared to, say, the NFL Network.

Time Warner subscribers like myself also understand their checkered history when deciding to add channels. Assuredly you remember the battle they waged with Sinclair Broadcast Group for the cost of ABC's HD signal. Time Warner had no problems holding out in that negotiation process. Eventually an agreement was worked out, which is exactly what will happen in this case - especially the closer you are to a B10 university.

TW and even Insight and WOW understand the ramifications if they don't carry the BTN. Their phone lines will absolutely melt with irate customers. Cancellations will skyrocket. In the Columbus market alone, they stand to lose hundreds of thousands of subscribers (not just dollars). All situations they want and will avoid. And, the relationship would be mutually beneficial. Subscribers are kept happy and the cable company adds a new channel that strengthens their HD lineup. That doesn't mean the negotiation process won't take the entire summer. It probably will, but it will get done. Those of you living in areas far outside Big Ten country are probably wise to start researching DirecTV or other alternatives.

Now that the calendar has ticked over into June, prepare yourself for an avalanche of preseason college football magazines. In fact, on my weekly visit to Barnes and Noble I saw two companies - Lindys and Athlon - already have theirs in stores and on newsstands. Each mag had USC pegged at the top with the Buckeyes finding themselves outside the Top 10. This is not entirely a surprise and probably where we'll end up in most of the magazines based on our offensive challenges.

Perhaps the most popular of the preseason previews is Phil Steele, which is due out on Tuesday. It also happens to be the most accurate and the one that is filled with the most information. It's like the Rosetta Stone for the everyday fan. His research and prediction accuracy is usually unrivaled, making you a quick expert on teams you knew nothing about. In this year's edition, you should also find that the 2006 Buckeyes broke the mold when it comes to his Draftday Hangover Effect. I actually already wrote about this in December. Anyway, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. Leave the others behind.

There were two particularly noteworthy items today from Columbus media circles. The less consequential is the report that CM Media has sold its publication division. CM Media is the parent company of The Other Paper, a periodical I have lampooned here on a few occasions for a shoddy and superficial sports section. Here's to improvement! Elsewhere, their big brother, The Columbus Dispatch, has moved to a more dynamic website including - ahem - sports blogs! These blogs are maintained by several sports columnists and are, at least so far, updated frequently during the day.

It's an interesting change but truth be told, newspapers these days are fighting an uphill battle. Once the main conduit to relay information, news and articles, print publications are looking for new ways to buttress readership. The internet has changed everything from not only where people get their info but also how quickly. This is never more apparent than the sports world where articles you read in the morning paper were stories you read the previous afternoon from your computer.

If anything, The Dispatch is a late the game. Several national newspapers like The New York Times, Washington Post and Houston Chronicle already have deep seeded and highly popular blogs to enhance content. If I had to guess, the Big D grudgingly added writer's blogs and writers bitterly add the content. Not that it's difficult technology to implement (they're just using Movable Type), but more likely because bloggers are thought to be devoid a code of ethics. They don't want to be associated with 'us' because we're just a bunch of mouth-breathers hacking away thoughtless and fact-less copy. Okay, I concede bloggers for that team up north.

Blogs are a vital component of the sports arena and aren't going away anytime soon. Kudos to the Dispatch for making the move - albeit late. Now, about getting me on your sidebar blogroll...

Buckeye football doesn't play until next year. Men's basketball hasn't had a game since last weekend and not another until this weekend. Suffice it to say, news is lacking. However, other interesting things are popping up that relate to Ohio State and how you may get your Buckeye news - namely the recent website divorces. I'm sure this impacts readers here as some may be subscribers so I feel it's a worthy topic. So...

What, if anything, is going on at Scout.com, the gigantic sports website consortium? They seemingly have had a rough December with the defection of BuckNuts.com, one of their largest and most active sites in their network. On the first of the month, BuckNuts.com abandoned ship and reformed their independent website. It's not hard to figure out that the decision to move was in the planning stages for some time. The new BuckNuts website is feature rich, well-designed and validates across most popular browsers and both the PC and Mac platform. That sort of thing doesn't happen very quickly for a site the size and complexity of BuckNuts.

So, how does a network react to this? For their part, Scout decided to act shocked and issued this statement which referenced future action:

There are obviously some legal issues involved but we'll let the lawyers and judges sort that out.

With that, I'll assume no longer are they on each other's Christmas card list (BuckNut's mini-statement here). The odd thing is Scout still uses the BuckNuts name and the author list still reads the same as it was pre-divorce.

If you look at this singularly, it's not all that uncommon. Sites move from one network to another or change ownership occasionally. The difference here is that BuckNuts isn't alone. Just earlier this week, another Scout site decided to go independent again as well. IlliniBoard.com decided to sever ties with Scout after three years of partnership. They offered a statement of their own outlining the reasons for the move. Even Rivals.com is experiencing shifts, having lost Buckeye Sports Bulletin a few months back. BSB went, you guessed it, independent.

All this may be signaling a shift in electronic sports media. Five years ago, most sites were desirous to join one of the large networks. Now, it seems independence is valued again even at the expense of 'recruiting services'. Add with the explosion of legitimate blogs as sources of news, information and commentary (a ha!) and we may be seeing the cusp of more drastic changes.

Quick little football sidenote: The Buckeye football team deserves some unique respect in next year's edition of Phil Steele's magazine. Some may remember I wrote about Steele's draft day hangover effect in June. The hangover effect essentially put the kibosh on any decent chance of bettering our record of 2005 and getting to the BCS Championship game. It's his method which foreshadows doom for the upcoming year. In fact, no team had ever bettered their record (in at least 9 years - that's presumably all the longer he's published his mag) after 'scoring' 35 or more hangover points . Ohio State suffered 2 losses last year and then were pillaged by the NFL draft (49 points). But, our current undefeated record this year sets a precedent even should we lose in the title game.

Lastly, the OZone has some tidbits and updates on the football team and the post-season award circuit. Plus, Brandon Saine - an incoming 215lb RB/WR frosh with state record 10.3 / 100m time - was recently named Mr. Football in Ohio. An embarrassment of riches.

Those who read here know I'm a fan of the work The Dispatch does. Their weekly, gameday and post game articles are unmatched. They also employ the best designers, photographers and illustrators which, it should be pointed out, is content, too. This weekend, there were no less than three full page designs on the game. I quickly gathered them together and snapped off a picture to share.

I'll have more on the game soon including a full game analysis, highlight and play of the week vids.