At the Big Ten men's basketball tournament in Chicago in April, reporters strolled through the media entrance of the United Center and were issued credentials for the four-day event, which allowed them access to courtside seats, free Internet and meals.
Not long after, underneath the arena's seats, an endless supply of tournament, conference and team information was distributed to media members in white folders labeled with the logo for the "Big Ten Network," which was officially named and announced six months earlier and launched Thursday.
The brand placement was a subtle reminder of the 20-year agreement that the Big Ten Conference and Fox Cable Networks entered a little more than a year ago.
The goal: to create a television destination that Big Ten fans could turn to 24 hours a day, seven days per week. The result: the Big Ten Network, majority owned by the conference with Fox as a co-owner.
The brainchild of Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, the network was conceived during negotiations to renew the conference's television deal with ABC/ESPN. In those talks, the conference was told if it wanted more value in its new deal, that it should move some games to Thursday nights, something Delany did not want to see happen. Delany was also frustrated by the increasing amount of games being moved to lesser-viewed ESPNU and online to ESPN360.
"It dawned on us that perhaps it was time to look at another way to get more events and more university content out to our fans," Delany said at the Big Ten's annual football media day last month. "It was our goal to take what we had, to make it national, to grow it locally and regionally and expand opportunities -- not only for our football and basketball teams but for our other sports as well. That was the vision."
In the end, not only did the conference come to terms with a new 10-year agreement with ABC/ESPN to nationally televise football and basketball games, it also walked away from negotiations with the idea for its own network, which would broadcast all Big Ten football and basketball games not shown on national television, in addition to hours of other content it could deliver directly to its fan base.
This year, the network will televise at least 35 football games, including today's Penn State season opener against Florida International, the Nittany Lions' Sept. 15 game against Buffalo and a third game not yet announced. More than 125 men's basketball games and 170 Olympic sport events will also be televised on the network.
Content & Credibility
The Big Ten Network is certainly not the first media outlet of its kind. Rather, it's part of a continuing trend of team- or league-owned sports networks.
During the past two decades, several such networks have launched and enjoyed success. Operating out of New York alone, there are three team-owned sports networks. The YES Network is owned by the New York Yankees; MSG is owned by Cablevision, which also owns the Knicks and Rangers; and there's SNY, which broadcasts Mets games and is partially owned by the team as well.
In New England, NESN is co-owned by the Boston Red Sox and Bruins. And on the national stage, the NFL Network, which launched in 2003, is 1/32nd owned by each of the league's owners.
The benefits of owning and operating a network that caters specifically to fans of a team, or in the case of the NFL and Big Ten, a league or conference, are fairly obvious and simple.
"In today's age of instant information and access, it's great to be able to provide something 24 hours a day, every day, year round to your fan base," said Seth Palansky, a spokesman for the NFL Network. "People say, 'Well there's so much NFL content and programming out there.' The truth is once the games ended, there wasn't as much as we felt warranted. And we understand other networks have to promote bass fishing or poker, but we felt there was plenty of compelling stories to get out about our sport. When you have your own network, those decisions become easy."
But when you have your own network, questions regarding journalistic integrity are also raised. Can a network that bears the name "Big Ten" independently cover itself, especially when a story breaks that may portray the conference or one of its teams in a negative manner?
"That was an important issue for me," said Dave Revsine, who will host "Big Ten Tonight," the network's nightly equivalent of SportsCenter, with analysts Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith. Revsine, a Northwestern graduate, joined the Big Ten Network after 10 years with ESPN. DiNardo is a former coach at Indiana, and Griffith played fullback for Illinois and won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos.
"It would have been a deal breaker for me, had I gotten the wrong answer," Revsine said. "We feel that we have a responsibility to cover the Big Ten. Our hope is the primary component of that will be the stuff that's happening on the field and the positive stories that come out of athletic competition. But part of college athletics is that sometimes there are stories that are not quite as positive. I put it to these guys [Delany and Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman], 'Are we going to cover these stories?' And they said, 'Absolutely.' "
During game broadcasts, Silverman said his on-air talents, many of whom have previously worked for ESPN or Fox, would be "given the direction to announce these games the way Big Ten fans have always seen them, or want to see them."
But viewers shouldn't expect the Big Ten Network to be breaking news. That's where a league- or conference-owned network is different.
"The goal is to report it," Silverman said. "We'll report the news."
The NFL Network, according to Palansky, takes a similar approach.
"We'd have no viewers if we just out-and-out lied or sugarcoated the truth. We have to deliver the news," Palansky said, adding the goal is to further the story if they are able to add new information.
Recently, not only has the NFL Network continuously reported on the controversy involving Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and his participation in illegal dogfighting, but the network was the only television media outlet to interview Falcons owner Arthur Blank.
The NFL arranged the Aug. 20 interview months in advance, and Blank easily could have canceled given the circumstances, and likely would have if it were another outlet, Palansky said.
"He knew that we were going to ask him the questions any other outlet is going to ask him, but he felt comfortable enough to go through with the interview," Palansky said. "It's weird. He's 1/32nd owner of the network and he's being asked questions [that] probably don't present him and his organization in the best light."
These are the types of situations that build viewer trust, which is essential in a media landscape where viewers are inundated with many options.
"If you look at [team- or league-owned] operations and what has made each one successful, the common thread is that they realized in order to compete they have to create a top level product," said Malcolm Moran, the Knight Chair in sports journalism and society for Penn State's College of Communications. "If they're accused of favoring the home team, for example, or if there was a reason to think the NFL Network was going soft on some controversial issue, that would affect the credibility of the whole enterprise."
For Revsine, who will work five nights per week as the Big Ten Network's most visible studio presence, the goal is simple.
"If somebody has to go somewhere else to get news and information on schools in the Big Ten, then we've failed," Revsine said.
Distribution
Of course, what appears on the network won't matter if fans aren't able to watch it. As of press time, the Big Ten and Comcast Communications, which provides cable television to many Pennsylvania residents, have not yet reached an agreement to carry the network.
The main sticking point between the two sides is that Comcast wants the network as part of its Sports Entertainment Pack, which would ask customers to pay an additional fee if they wanted the channel and not force Comcast to levy an additional fee. The Big Ten would prefer its channel to be included as part of customers extended basic service in the eight Big Ten states, Silverman said.
It doesn't appear a deal will be reached anytime soon. Just last week, Fox, which has the lead role in negotiating carriage agreements for the Big Ten, issued a statement that said, in part, "Comcast is unwilling to negotiate with us."
For now, if fans in State College want to watch today's season-opener on television, they'll have to subscribe to DirecTV or D&E Communications, which is carrying the network on expanded basic cable. Or they could head University Park campus, which will be carrying the Big Ten Network on most dorm room and common area televisions.
