Big Ten Network

The Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network dedicated to the Big Ten Conference, jointly operated by the conference itself and Fox Sports, and is the first internationally distributed network dedicated to covering a single college conference. The network's lineup includes telecasts of Big Ten events, archived events involving Big Ten schools, studio shows, coach's shows, documentaries, and other programming related to the conference.

The network currently reaches approximately 90 million households nationwide and is available up to an estimated 100 million households in the United States and Canada. It is headquartered in the former Montgomery Ward & Co. catalog building at 600 W. Chicago Avenue in.

The network currently has agreements with more than 300 providers. It is carried nationally on DirecTV and Dish Network; and regionally on AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FiOS, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, Insight Communications, Mediacom Communications, Time Warner Cable, Cable One, Cablevision and several others. In Canada, it is available on Shaw Direct, Shaw Cable, Rogers Cable, and EastLink. The network is available on cable in 19 of the 20 largest U.S. media markets.

History
BTN was first unveiled on June 21, 2006, as a 20-year joint project of the Big Ten Conference, and Fox Entertainment Group. At launch, 51% of the network was originally owned by the conference itself, while Fox owned a minority interest in the network, while also handling the operations for the network. The network was positioned to be the first ever cable channel dedicated to a single collegiate conference. The network also has a commitment to "event equality", stating that it would produce and distribute an equal number of men's and women's events across all platforms, within three years of being on the air. The deal was meant to replace the Big Ten's television contract with ESPN's ESPN Plus regional television package. ESPN Plus games were typically only seen on one over the air station in one team's local market, such as the Illinois Fighting Illini on Champaign station WCIA.

BTN officially launched as the Big Ten Network on August 30, 2007. On September 1, 2007, the network aired its first live telecasts, which included an Appalachian State vs. Michigan football game which gained national attention for its upset victory, the first win between an unranked Division I FCS team and a Division I FBS team since the splitting of Division I into two divisions by the NCAA in 1978. However, the network suffered from limited carriage on its launch, only being carried by two major television providers. The network's staff however, aimed for, and was able to attain carriage on "extended basic" cable in Big Ten markets by 2008.

While no specifics were revealed, Fox acquired majority control of Big Ten Network in June 2010 using a provision in its contract with the conference, and now holds a 51% stake. The change is not expected to alter the channel's operations

In time for the 2011 college football season, the network unveiled a new look (including a new logo and updated on-air appearance), and also introduced a new online service known as "BTN2Go", which offers live streaming of BTN telecasts and other programming through a web browser or app. The service was initially available to subscribers of Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, DirecTV, and Dish Network.

BTN and Dish Network were involved in a dispute leading up to the expiration of their contract a day before the 2012 college football season began. A temporary blackout from September 14-22 gave way to a new agreement, restoring BTN to DISH.

Executive personnel
Mark Silverman is the first President of the network. He was formerly a General Manager and Senior Vice President of ABC Cable Networks Group.

Studio hosts

 * Dave Revsine, who spent 11 years at ESPN
 * Mike Hall, winner of the first season of ESPN's Dream Job
 * Rick Pizzo
 * Brent Stover
 * Lisa Cornwell
 * Brittany Payton
 * Melanie Collins
 * Kerry Sayers

Play-by-play announcers

 * Ari Wolfe
 * Gus Johnson, longtime NFL and NCAA basketball voice for CBS Sports, now NFL and Pac-12 voice for FOX Sports
 * Kevin Kugler current Jacksonville Jaguars preseason play-by-play announcer and 8 time Nebraska Sportscaster of the Year
 * Thom Brennaman, who has called the BCS, NFL and MLB on FOX, lead TV voice of the Cincinnati Reds on FSOhio
 * Eric Collins, current non-NL West road game TV play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was previously at ESPN
 * Wayne Larrivee, long time Big Ten play-by-play announcer and former voice of the Chicago Bears, Cubs, Bulls, Kansas City Chiefs and current voice for the Green Bay Packers Radio Network
 * Tom Hamilton, long time Big Ten play-by-play announcer and current radio voice of the Cleveland Indians
 * Dave Revsine
 * Matt Devlin, current TV play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Raptors
 * Mike Crispino, also works for MSG and is the radio voice of the New York Knicks
 * Brian Barnhart, voice of the Fighting Illini
 * Leah Secondo
 * Brent Stover
 * Tracy Warren
 * Tom Werme
 * Brian Anderson, current announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers on FSN Wisconsin and baseball announcer for TBS
 * Chris Denari current TV play by play for the Indiana Pacers

Football

 * Analysts
 * Gerry DiNardo, former Indiana head coach
 * Howard Griffith, former Illinois running back
 * Chris Martin, former Northwestern defensive back
 * Anthony Herron, former Iowa defensive lineman
 * Derek Rackley, former Minnesota tight end
 * Danan Hughes, former Iowa wide receiver
 * Glen Mason, former Minnesota head coach and Ohio State linebacker
 * Muhsin Muhammad, former Michigan State wide receiver
 * Rod Woodson, former Purdue All-American defensive back and analyst for NFL Network; currently DB coach for Oakland Raiders
 * Rosevelt Colvin, former Purdue defensive lineman
 * Tony Banks, former Michigan State quarterback

Men's basketball

 * Analysts
 * Jimmy Jackson, former Ohio State player
 * Gene Keady, former Purdue coach
 * Dan Dakich, former Indiana player and interim coach
 * Tim Doyle, former Northwestern player
 * Gregory Kelser, former Michigan State player
 * Shon Morris, former Northwestern player
 * Steve Smith, former Michigan State player
 * Kendall Gill, former Illinois player
 * John Laskowski, former Indiana player
 * Bill Hosket, Jr., former Ohio State player
 * Jimmy King, former Michigan player
 * Kenyon Murray, former Iowa player
 * Gary Williams, former Maryland Coach

Women's basketball

 * Analysts
 * Stephanie White, former Purdue player
 * Mary Murphy, former Northwestern player and Wisconsin coach
 * Vera Jones, former Indiana assistant coach
 * Brenda VanLengen, former Nebraska coach

Baseball

 * Analysts
 * Cal Eldred, former major leaguer and Iowa pitcher
 * Danan Hughes, former Iowa outfielder and NFL wide receiver
 * Scott Pose, Iowa native and former MLB outfielder

Sideline reporters

 * Mike Hall
 * Shireen Saski
 * Anthony Herron
 * Rebecca Haarlow
 * Melanie Collins
 * Lisa Byington

Ice hockey

 * Play-By-Play
 * Matt Rosen
 * Matt Shephard
 * Ben Holden


 * Analyst
 * Rob Andringa
 * Darby Hendrickson
 * Adam Burish
 * Anson Carter
 * Bill Clement
 * Mike Johnson

Wrestling

 * Announcers
 * Tim Johnson
 * Ken Chertow
 * Jake Herbert
 * Dan Gable

Football

 * Through the creation of the Big Ten Network, every home Big Ten football game is nationally televised
 * Each team is guaranteed to make a minimum of two appearances on the network per year and one of those must be a conference game
 * The network televises approximately 35-40 football games each fall and all of them are available in high definition

Men's basketball

 * Through the creation of the Big Ten Network, every home Big Ten basketball conference game is nationally televised, and every non-conference and exhibition game is either televised or streamed on www.bigtennetwork.com.
 * Each Big Ten men's basketball team makes approximately 10-20 appearances a season on the Big Ten Network
 * The network televises approximately 60-65 in-conference match-ups, plus selected Big Ten Tournament contests, and virtually all of those games are produced in high definition
 * The network streams a select number of non-conference and exhibition games live on www.BigTenNetwork.com
 * The network has a set on-site at the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis, with anchors providing coverage and analysis of all the action

Women's basketball

 * Each Big Ten women's basketball team makes approximately 8-10 appearances on the Big Ten Network
 * In all, the network televises approximately 50-60 regular season games plus approximately nine Big Ten Basketball Tournament games and all of these games are produced in high definition
 * The network streams dozens of games live on www.BigTenNetwork.com, giving Big Ten women’s basketball the most exposure of any conference in the country
 * The network has a set on-site at the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis, with anchors providing coverage and analysis of all the action

Baseball

 * The Big Ten Network televises approximately 25 baseball games each spring, all in HD
 * Each Big Ten baseball team makes approximately 5-8 appearances on the Big Ten Network
 * In 2009, the network televised the Big Ten Baseball Tournament from start to finish

Ice hockey

 * The Big Ten Network televises approximately 10 hockey games, all in HD, and more than 20 live streamed games. Oftentimes, the play by play and color announcers are not at the arena, but are calling the games via TV monitors in the BTN studio in Chicago. This happened on at least 2 occasions in 2012.

Olympic sports

 * The Big Ten Network televises more than 170 NCAA-sponsored events in both men's and women's sports such as hockey,  soccer, volleyball, track and field, swimming and diving, etc.

Big Ten Championships

 * The Big Ten Network televises 19 Big Ten Championships and Tournaments, including baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s field hockey, men’s and women’s golf, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track & field and men’s wrestling.

Online streams
In the 2009-10 school year, BTN began charging $2.99 per event for online feeds due to their significant financial investment in the latest streaming technology.

Regular shows

 * Big Ten Tonight: A weekly thirty-minute show similar to ESPN's SportsCenter only offering highlights and discussion of Big Ten football, basketball and other sports. Dave Revsine, Rick Pizzo, Mike Hall and Lisa Cornwell anchor. Other reporters and analysts appear depending on the sport being discussed. Airs Sundays.
 * Big Ten Football Saturday: On Saturdays during football season, the day's games are discussed and highlights are shown. There's the pre-game, halftime, and post-game editions for all games. Dave Revsine hosts and Gerry DiNardo (who they call "Coach") and Howard Griffith provide analysis.
 * Big Ten Friday Tailgate: 90 minute light hearted and irreverent show airing on Friday nights that looks at campus life surrounding football weekends. The hosts are Mike Hall, Charissa Thompson, and Chicago area improv actors Jordan Klepper, Steve Waltien, and Tim Baltz. In 2010, the show was cut to 60 minutes and shortned its title to Big Ten Tailgate.
 * Big Ten Tip-Off Show: A pre-game show in which the day's basketball games are discussed. Hosted by Dave Revsine. Gene Keady, Jimmy Jackson, Tim Doyle and Kendall Gill provide analysis.
 * Coaches Q&A: Excerpts from the week's press conferences
 * The Big Ten's Greatest Games: Classic football and basketball games, with editing of some non-essential game action out to fit time constraints.
 * The Big Ten Women's Show: Covers women's sports throughout the conference. Airs at 10 PM ET on Mondays.
 * The Big Ten Quad: a weekly sports discussion show with Big Ten legends.
 * Big Ten Cookout: a half hour cooking/tailgate show that airs live on Saturdays at 10 AM ET. It is hosted by Melanie Collins from a different Big Ten campus every week. The chefs are Julius Russell and Ben Walanka (from season five of Hell's Kitchen).
 * The Big Ten's Best: a weekly countdown show with lists of the top 10 Big Ten teams or players in a certain category, such as "best running backs of the 1990s" or "best quarterbacks of the 1980s". It is hosted by Charissa Thompson.
 * Various coach's shows.
 * University Showcase - a program block of non-sports campus produced programs. Each school has equal time.
 * Student U - Game broadcasts produced by university broadcast departments involving students controlling production and play-by-play which are usually seen only on closed-circuit campus cable networks.
 * Big Ten Football: Breakdown: Every week, Big Ten coaches and players review the previous week’s game film, looking for the positives and the negatives. Network analysts will give fans a look at the nuances of the game and what affected the teams’ success. Airs Tuesdays at 10 PM ET.
 * Big Ten Football: Sites & Sounds: The show includes segments from press conferences, media interviews and the games, as well as other behind-the-scenes footage, hosted from the network's Chicago studios. Airs Wednesdays at 10 PM ET.
 * Big Ten Football: Behind the Schemes: The network's resident head coaches go head-to-head each week, breaking down film and putting together game plans for the upcoming week’s games. Airs Thursdays at 10 PM ET.
 * Big Ten Football… & Beyond: The show previews the weekend’s games with reports from each Big Ten stadium and takes a look at key national match-ups that could impact Big Ten postseason plans. Airs Fridays at 10 PM ET.
 * Big Ten Film Vault: A vintage Big Ten film from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Hosted by Dan Dierdorf.
 * Big Ten Icons: Each show highlights a Big Ten athlete from a wide range of sports and history. Notable subjects include Jesse Owens, Jack Nicklaus and Steve Alford.

New basketball shows in 2010
The network launched three new basketball shows, beginning in January 2010, dedicated specifically to Big Ten basketball.

The Journey: Big Ten Basketball 2010: Episodes will follow multiple teams each week throughout the season letting fans experience the conference's 10-week schedule in a documentary-style format. Airs Sundays at 9 PM ET.

Big Ten Hoops: On Campus: Mike Hall, Jim Jackson, Tiffany Simons and Natalie Kane will visit a different campus each week to showcase the loyalty, passion and tradition that defines Big Ten basketball and their fans. Hour-long show airs Fridays at 10 PM ET>

This Week in Big Ten Basketball: Dave Revsine hosts the show alongside Jim Jackson and Dan Dakich. The show will provide a comprehensive breakdown of all of the Big Ten hoops action of the week. Airs Sundays at 9:30 PM ET.

Program milestones

 * First program: Big Ten Tonight, August 30, 2007 at 8 p.m. ET
 * First live football games: Four regional college football telecasts on September 1 at noon ET, including Appalachian State's historic upset win over Michigan
 * First women's sports event: Syracuse at Michigan State, soccer, September 2
 * First men's non-revenue sports event: UCLA at Indiana, soccer, September 2

High definition
The 720p high definition simulcast of Big Ten Network launched simultaneously to the regular channel. It is available nationally on DirecTV and Dish Network;  and regionally on Verizon FiOs, AT&T U-verse, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, Mediacom, and several other cable television systems. In Canada, it is available nationally on Shaw Direct and regionally on Shaw Communications, and EastLink. All of its original programs and studio shows are in HD, as well as nearly all of its sporting events and some of its school-produced coaches and campus shows. The channel has produced all of its football games in HD since 2009. In 2011, the standard definition version of the network was converted to 4:3 letterboxing, in line with all of Fox's networks going with a completely widescreen presentation for all forms of programming.

Football overflow feeds
Many times on football Saturdays, the Big Ten Network produces multiple games that air at the same time. The network designates one game as its national game, which is shown on the main channel on satellite systems. The remaining games air on the main channel in the local markets and on the extra football game channels in the remaining markets. Most cable systems inside the Big Ten's eight states offer these Big Ten Network extra football game channels or "out-of-market" feeds. All the extra football game channel feeds are available nationally on DirecTV and Dish Network; and regionally on AT&T U-verse, many Comcast systems, and several other cable systems.

Some providers only carry the overflow feeds in standard definition, and providers outside of the U.S. provide them in out-of-market subscription packages.

Big Ten Network On Demand
Big Ten Network On Demand, offers viewers BTN's programming such as Big Ten Tonight, The Journey, Big Ten Quad and Big Ten Short Stories, original specials, press conferences and highlights specific to each school, as well as magazine and coaches' shows. DirecTV and Dish Network subscribers get content for all 11 schools, while cable customers only receive content for the school(s) in their state. Most content is also offered in HD. The channel's website, www.BigTenNetwork.com, also has a large amount of video on demand content for all 11 schools which is free to all internet users.

Carriage
Carriage negotiations with several major cable companies were stalled for several months because the cable providers wanted to put the channel on a sports tier and charge only customers who wanted it, and Big Ten Network wanted to put it on extended basic so that cable customers would not have to pay extra for it. However, when the nation's largest cable provider Comcast reached a deal on June 19, 2008, (and began adding the channel on August 15, 2008), the other major providers in the Big Ten Region (Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable, etc.) followed suit. Big Ten is additionally an associate member of the Caribbean Cable Cooperative.

2007
DirecTV and AT&T U-Verse were the only major television providers to carry the channel at launch. Dish Network added it a week later. 250 small cable systems carried it at launch as well.

2008
In late summer and early autumn 2008, several large cable companies in The Big Ten Region reached carriage agreements with The Big Ten Network. With these announcements, The Big Ten Network now reaches every major cable TV provider in the Big Ten Region.


 * On August 23, 2008, Cedar Rapids, Iowa newspaper The Gazette reported that sources close to negotiations between the network and Mediacom said the two sides have reached an agreement in principle. On August 28 the official announcement was made. Mediacom provides service to most of Iowa, including Iowa City, where the Big Ten's University of Iowa is located.


 * On August 25, 2008, it was announced in a joint statement that Time Warner Cable and The Big Ten Network reached a carriage deal. Time Warner now carries the channel on its expanded basic service in the eight states where Big Ten schools operate.


 * On August 26, 2008, an agreement between The Big Ten Network and Charter Communications was announced.


 * On August 26, 2008, The Indianapolis Star reported that Brighthouse Networks and The Big Ten Network are "very close to a deal".


 * On August 28, 2008, The Plain Dealer reported that Cox Communications had reached a deal to carry the Big Ten Network.


 * On September 30, 2008, Broadstripe added the channel to its systems in Michigan.

2009

 * On June 23, 2009, Cablevision added the channel in both standard and high definition.


 * On August 25, 2009, Atlantic Broadband and BTN reached a carriage agreement. The channel was added in standard definition and high definition on September 1, 2009 to customers in central and northern Pennsylvania.


 * On December 28, 2009, Charter Communications and BTN reached an agreement to provide the network to Charter customers in St. Louis and Southern Illinois. Charter launched the BTN on its Expanded Basic-Digital level of service.

Canadian carriage
In September 2008, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission officially approved a request by Shaw Communications to allow carriage of BTN in Canada on its specialty television services. While CTVglobemedia filed a concern that it would illegally compete with its mainstream sports channel TSN, the CRTC determined that BTN would not harm TSN because of its "very niche" scope. BTN became available to Shaw customers on December 3, 2008. The channel became available on Rogers Cable in Ontario and New Brunswick on October 22, 2009.

Similar channels
Other channels that show only college sports include:


 * Pac-12 Network, to be launched 2012, to show sports involving the Pac-12 conference.
 * Longhorn Network, shows sports and programming involving the University of Texas at Austin.
 * BYUtvsports.com
 * Sportsnet
 * ESPNU
 * CBS Sports Network, formerly known as CSTV and the CBS College Sports Network, but still primarily shows college events.
 * Fox College Sports