Big Ten Network defies early skeptics as audience, profits rise

[Nexus]

The Big Ten Network, the all-collegiate sports channel, prompted chuckles when it launched in 2007.

 

But no one's laughing at it now: The network has pumped up viewership and ad dollars — and has caught the eye of schools considering defecting from their own conferences.

 

The Chicago-based network's early programming efforts have been long on game coverage and short on the kind of opinionated banter that fans expect from sports broadcasters.

 

But Big Ten Network LLC brass says new programming is in the works, which CEO Mark Silverman hopes will win over more advertisers and answer skeptics who once thought the Big Ten Conference's appeal wasn't broad enough to support a stand-alone network.

 

“Most networks don't launch under the specter we did,” Silverman says. “I kept telling them, ‘We're going to get better.' We needed to earn their trust.”

 

The network has become a moneymaker for Big Ten Conference schools, generating millions of dollars that support athletic programs, scholarships and facilities. Other bonuses: brand-building, luring prospective students and keeping alumni engaged.

 

Silverman says the Big Ten Network's profit more than doubled this year over 2009; ad revenue rose 30 percent as the audience expanded to 40 million homes. He wouldn't provide specific numbers, but the conference's IRS filing for the year ended June 2009 — the most recent data available — showed the network paid the conference $72 million.

 

Silverman now aims to reach 60 million homes over the next five years. But growth presents challenges.

 

The University of Nebraska's defection to the Big Ten this month will trigger new cable negotiations there. Plus, the NCAA's disrupted equilibrium — not to mention the flow of revenue from TV networks — is drawing scrutiny from two U.S. senators.

 

Iowa Sens. Charles Grassley and Tom Harkin, whose Iowa State University was left behind in the smaller Big 12 when Nebraska bolted, sent letters last month to the six major conferences, questioning their non-profit, tax-exempt status and requesting a slew of financial documents.

 

“The invitations to join the Big Ten seem to be extended for the sole purpose of enhancing the financial bottom line that television contracts, marketing and promotional activities will bring member institutions,” the senators said in a June 10 letter to Big Ten Commissioner James Delany.

 

The senators' next steps depend on the conferences' response, a Grassley spokeswoman says. Delany declines to comment.

 

The conference says in a statement that it received the letters and is working with the senators' staffs.

 

The Big Ten Network is 51 percent owned by the conference and 49 percent owned by News Corp.'s Fox unit. It delivered about $8 million to each school this year for the right to broadcast some games, while other national networks, including ABC and ESPN, pay the schools nearly $14 million each for the biggest games, says Ron Guenther, athletic director at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

 

The conference and Fox decline to provide financial results.

 

The Big Ten Network is “absolutely in the sweet spot — right place, right time,” says David Bank, a media analyst who follows News Corp. at RBC Capital Markets in New York.

 

The network airs everything from football and lacrosse to volleyball and golf, devoting 50 percent to women's sports. Silverman has two hours of new nightly programming slated for this fall and hopes that advertisers will start sponsoring shows other than live games as he tries to improve ratings.

 

New shows include “Big Ten Icons,” counting down the conference's 50 greatest athletes of all time, and a talk show called “The Pulse,” the network's first show in which guests will be encouraged to get opinionated.

 

Some shows will be retooled, including a less “sophomoric” “Friday Night Tailgate,” Silverman says.

 

The network formed in 2006 under a 20-year partnership between the Big Ten Conference and Fox, which agreed to pay the conference for the rights to broadcast games that weren't already under separate contracts with national networks.

 

Comcast Corp. of Philadelphia and other cable companies initially refused to include the network in subscribers' basic packages, but they relented by 2008. (Comcast executives weren't available.)

 

“The sticking point was and always is price,” says Bob Thompson, who was president of Fox Sports Networks at the time and is still a consultant to the company.

 

Pricing again will be pivotal as the network enters negotiations for Nebraska coverage starting next year and a potential 2011 conference championship made possible by the conference's 12 members. Delany says the conference may yet add more members.

 

In Big Ten states like Michigan, the network is available to more than 90 percent of homes through cable companies. The exception is Pennsylvania, where some distributors still refuse to carry it.

 

The Big Ten Network's success has led some conferences, including the Pac 10, to consider creating their own networks, says Kevin Weiberg, Pac 10 deputy commissioner and a former Big Ten Network exec. It's also driven others to wangle better national TV deals.

 

“The Big Ten's arrangements do set a very high and new benchmark,” Weiberg says. “There will be some catching up.”

 

LINK

[Bleeding Husker Red]

So the big ten schools made a total of $22 mil each by this BEFORE adding Nebraska...

 

 

I'd say when all is said and done we'll see about the same money Texas will be getting from the new B12 deal after all.

 

 

That is, until 2016 when the B10 package gets redone..... <snicker>

 

 

 

How do you like us now, Texas?

[LouisianaHuskerFan]

So the big ten schools made a total of $22 mil each by this BEFORE adding Nebraska...

 

 

I'd say when all is said and done we'll see about the same money Texas will be getting from the new B12 deal after all.

 

 

That is, until 2016 when the B10 package gets redone..... <snicker>

 

 

 

How do you like us now, Texas?

 

 

I find it hard to believe that Texas will be getting 22 million a year from the Big 12. I know that's what Beebe promised them but I just don't know where that money is going to come from. Even if they start their own Longhorn Network. They might pull in around 17 or 18 million a year I bet. Oh well, we come out better in the end. GBR!!!

[Creed]

I think a lot of it comes down to demographics. One, the Big 10 schools typically have large enrollments who eventually spread out over the country. Second, you have some big TV markets in Big 10 states. Example, Big 10 has Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Indianpolis, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Philly. Big 12 revamped will have Dallas, Houston, KC & St. Louis. SEC has Atlanta and New Orleans.

[74Hunter]

I was having this discussion with a friend last night, but does Cox Cable in Omaha offer the Big 10 Network? If not, they had better start negotiating that deal.

[Caven]

Cox in Omaha does but Time Warner in Lincoln does not.

[74Hunter]

Cox in Omaha does but Time Warner in Lincoln does not.

Thanks!

[LouisianaHuskerFan]

Cox in Omaha does but Time Warner in Lincoln does not.

 

 

Time Warner in Lincoln will get it before this year is up I bet!

[Foppa]

Cox in Omaha does but Time Warner in Lincoln does not.

 

 

Time Warner in Lincoln will get it before this year is up I bet!

 

If they have any brains at all, they will. I wouldn't be surprised to see cable rates go up because of it, though. Not that they don't jack them up all the time anyway.

[PSU1995]

Cox in Omaha does but Time Warner in Lincoln does not.

 

 

Time Warner in Lincoln will get it before this year is up I bet!

 

If they have any brains at all, they will. I wouldn't be surprised to see cable rates go up because of it, though. Not that they don't jack them up all the time anyway.

 

I'm in Pennsylvania and was *infuriated* that I wasn't able to see Penn State games because many cable carriers were not carrying it. I don't know if they failed to consider how many alums are in PA but I think they got some pressure and lost some business to the satellite carriers over it.

 

I almost dumped my cable carrier over it. I emailed them frequently. I know a lot of other people did to.

 

They finally relented although I know some still have not.

 

B10 Network RULES on football Saturdays!

[WCHusker]

Iowa Sens. Charles Grassley and Tom Harkin, whose Iowa State University was left behind in the smaller Big 12 when Nebraska bolted, sent letters last month to the six major conferences, questioning their non-profit, tax-exempt status and requesting a slew of financial documents.

 

“The invitations to join the Big Ten seem to be extended for the sole purpose of enhancing the financial bottom line that television contracts, marketing and promotional activities will bring member institutions,” the senators said in a June 10 letter to Big Ten Commissioner James Delany.

 

The senators' next steps depend on the conferences' response, a Grassley spokeswoman says. Delany declines to comment.

 

The conference says in a statement that it received the letters and is working with the senators' staffs.

 

This just goes to show how stupid people in Iowa tend to be. HEY STUPID-nevermind that that U of Iowa gets a big piece of that and that the Big 12 is working on doing something very similar. I swear there's something in the water that makes the people there half retarded.

 

[Bleeding Husker Red]

So the big ten schools made a total of $22 mil each by this BEFORE adding Nebraska...

 

 

I'd say when all is said and done we'll see about the same money Texas will be getting from the new B12 deal after all.

 

 

That is, until 2016 when the B10 package gets redone..... <snicker>

 

 

 

How do you like us now, Texas?

 

 

I find it hard to believe that Texas will be getting 22 million a year from the Big 12. I know that's what Beebe promised them but I just don't know where that money is going to come from. Even if they start their own Longhorn Network. They might pull in around 17 or 18 million a year I bet. Oh well, we come out better in the end. GBR!!!

 

 

UNL having a big national following opens up a LOT of markets for BTN. Obviously it's hard to tell right now, but the revenue potential is great. Forbes rates us as the 4rth most valuable brand in college football... UT, ND, PSU are the only schools ahead of us. So if you ask me the future truly looks bright. And all of that is as currently negotiated rates, which undoubtedly will increase when it comes time to renegotiate.

 

lookin bright indeed

 

I'm confident at this point that even IF UT gets that much in it's new contract our guys do better in the long run.

[ESPY]

Iowa Sens. Charles Grassley and Tom Harkin, whose Iowa State University was left behind in the smaller Big 12 when Nebraska bolted, sent letters last month to the six major conferences, questioning their non-profit, tax-exempt status and requesting a slew of financial documents.

 

“The invitations to join the Big Ten seem to be extended for the sole purpose of enhancing the financial bottom line that television contracts, marketing and promotional activities will bring member institutions,” the senators said in a June 10 letter to Big Ten Commissioner James Delany.

 

The senators' next steps depend on the conferences' response, a Grassley spokeswoman says. Delany declines to comment.

 

The conference says in a statement that it received the letters and is working with the senators' staffs.

 

This just goes to show how stupid people in Iowa tend to be. HEY STUPID-nevermind that that U of Iowa gets a big piece of that and that the Big 12 is working on doing something very similar. I swear there's something in the water that makes the people there half retarded.

 

+1

 

Both Charles Grassley and Tom Harkin attended ISU. Explains a lot.

[HuskerInLostWages]

I already switched over to DirecTV this past weekend to have the BTN early. There is one convert in Vegas now that is ready for the switching of conferences.

[Danimal]

Next season can't come soon enough.