Uh-oh, BTN could get U-M vs. MSU
Television assignments for Nov. 3 games are postponed a week; networks offer no clues.
Dave Dye / The Detroit News
EAST LANSING -- Michigan and Michigan State fans will have to wait a few more days to learn the starting time and television network for the Nov. 3 game at Spartan Stadium.
The game will begin at noon or 3:30 p.m., depending on the network, which will be ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 or the Big Ten Network.
It's that last option -- the BTN -- that has some fans in an uproar because the network isn't carried by many cable outlets, including Comcast.
"It's not in our hands," said John Lewandowski, MSU's associate athletic director for media relations. "It's up to the TV networks."
The game times and networks are typically announced almost two weeks in advance, but ABC decided Monday to exercise an option in its contract and delay its pick.
Once ABC picks its game for the 3:30 slot -- it has narrowed its choices to Michigan-Michigan State, Ohio State-Wisconsin and Purdue-Penn State -- the other networks will fall into place, all with noon starts.
"There are a lot of options," said Mark Rudner, the Big Ten's associate commissioner for television administration. "ABC has the right to select one of three games based on the results of this week's games.
"It could go either way depending on what happens. It's their call. They're trying to capture the best game for the Big Ten race."
The deadline for ABC's decision is Monday, but "they usually let us know by late Saturday or Sunday," Rudner said.
"At this point, we just want to wait to make sure we pick the best game available," said Mike Humes, a spokesperson for ABC/ESPN.
If ABC selects the Ohio State-Wisconsin game, Michigan-Michigan State becomes the likely No. 2 choice.
The question is: Who picks No. 2? Is it ESPN or the Big Ten Network?
There have been rumblings that the BTN will have the second choice for the Nov. 3 games, but the conference and the networks won't say.
The contract called for the Big Ten Network to get the second choice (after ABC, before ESPN and ESPN2) for three weeks this season, and to get the third choice (after ABC and ESPN, before ESPN2) three times. The rest of the time the BTN gets the fourth pick.
The Big Ten and the networks have maintained from the start that they won't disclose who gets those second and third picks on a weekly basis.
"I'm not getting into the selection process," Rudner said.
Putting the Michigan-Michigan State game on the Big Ten Network would create quite a controversy in this state, where Comcast is such a dominant cable company.
Comcast has purchased advertising to defend its position in the debate with the Big Ten Network while criticizing the quality of games on the BTN.
A Michigan-Michigan State game seemingly would help disprove that theory, but there's another school of thought that the conference doesn't want the public controversy over its network's inability to reach an agreement with Comcast to get any worse.
The highly-publicized dispute between the Big Ten Network and Comcast has been raging since the middle of the summer after it became clear the two sides were so far apart in negotiations.
The BTN is adamant about being carried on the cable's basic package (no extra fee to subscribers) while Comcast wants to carry the network on a special sports package with an extra fee.
There's no end in sight to the dispute, especially with basketball season around the corner. The BTN will be carrying even more basketball than football games, including about half of the conference games involving both Michigan and Michigan State.
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