Big Ten Network to showcase more than sports
By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor 217-244-1072; slforres@illinois.edu
The Big Ten Network, a television network that will focus on intercollegiate sports, will offer the UI and the other 10 universities in the Big Ten Conference an opportunity to showcase academics, research and campus life and will more than double the UI’s television revenue. While the network, to be launched in August, is intended to be the ultimate source on Big Ten sports, it also will give the Big Ten universities a venue for broadcasting original content. The network will have mini-studios at each university campus and will offer internship programs, giving students experience in the businesses of sports, film and journalism, said Mark Silverman, president of the Big Ten Network. Silverman, Elizabeth Conlisk, the network’s vice president of communications, and Ron Guenther, the UI’s director of athletics, discussed plans for the network at Bielfeldt Athletic Center on the Urbana campus April 11. Based in Chicago, the network is a partnership between Fox Cable Networks and the Big Ten Conference, and has a 10-year contract with ABC/ESPN for broadcasting Big Ten conference football games, men’s and women’s basketball games, women’s volleyball games and Olympic sports. Over the course of the agreement, more than 35 Big Ten football games, about 105 regular-season men’s basketball games and three Big Ten Tournament games, as well as at least 55 regular-season women’s basketball and nine Big Ten Tournament games will be televised. The broadcast plans also include coaches’ shows, news and analysis, and historic footage from the conference’s library.
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Through ESPN’s collection of news media outlets – ESPN.com, Mobile ESPN, ESPN360 and ESPN VOD – sports fans will receive live events, including simulcasts, and extended video highlights, such as in-progress games and features. Operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the Big Ten Network will be available to all carriers and distributors nationwide by cable and satellite. Select content will be distributed as well through the World Wide Web and other emerging technologies. DIRECTV, the network’s charter affiliate, will carry the network on Total Choice, its most broadly distributed package, currently received by more than 15.4 million households. An agreement also has been reached with AT&T, and agreements with other carriers will be announced soon, Silverman said. In the eight states where Big Ten schools play – Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – Silverman said the network is expected to be available as “a basic cable network” at no additional cost to consumers. Beyond those states, the network probably will be part of the second tier of programming packages, just above the basic package. Many events will be offered in high-definition television (HDTV) as well as in standard definition. Each of the 11 Big Ten schools will receive $7.5 million a year from the network, more than doubling Illinois’ television revenue, to $13 million a year. Guenther emphasized that the initiative is “a university project,” and while the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics will “take full responsibility for the costs,” the revenue will be distributed across campus. Guenther said that the network has been under discussion for at least four or five years, including “a good 24 months of serious talks.” The method for selecting opponents to play will not change, but the universities may have to be more flexible about starting times because of the broadcast schedule. “Split (broadcast) feeds and staggered times will be the key,” Guenther said. “In a way, we will have more control than what we have now. It’s going to be a terrific thing for the conference.” Each university will be able to broadcast up to 60 hours of original content annually. “We’ve hired somebody to work with all the universities to develop interesting, entertaining programming,” Silverman said. “It really runs the gamut, and it’s the kind of programming that we’re very excited about, because in a big way, we’re different.” Some universities may focus on campus events and campus life, produce their own reality shows, or offer programs about school traditions. Staff members in Public Affairs at the Urbana campus are gathering input from campus communication officers about the original content that the UI will produce, which may include documentaries, performances, coverage of events, campus tours or news magazines about research. Silverman said that viewers are hungry for erudite content, as evidenced by the popularity of the National Geographic Channel and the Discovery Network, and reality shows are ubiquitous. “We can lend some programming expertise to the universities, which have a wealth of programming content, and couple those together to create some really interesting programming.” The colleges, the network and the conference are hoping that the schools’ vast audience of passionate and loyal alumni will embrace the network, which will not accept advertising for alcohol or gambling.
