Access to big game is limited

DirecTV customers with the Total Choice package can view the game.

By ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

Though negotiations continue with local cable companies Time Warner and Armstrong, an Armstrong spokesman says it is unlikely his company will work out a deal to carry the Youngstown State-Ohio State game Sept. 1 on the Big Ten Network.

If no agreement is reached with either company, the only place locally where the game will be available is a premium package called Total Choice on the satellite system DirecTV. The game will be broadcast on three local radio stations: WKBN-570 AM, WNIO-1390 AM, and WBBG 106.1 FM.

A message left at the public affairs office at Time Warner Cable was not returned.

Bev Fisher, director of the Canfield Fair, said the fair plans to show the game on a big-screen television near the flagpole outside the administration building. Some businesses, such as the four Buffalo Wild Wings locations in the area, are also planning to show it.

Dave Wittmann, director of cable marketing for Armstrong Cable, which serves much of northern and central Mahoning County, said it is still possible that a last-minute deal could be worked out, but Armstrong for one isn’t likely to accept the Big Ten Network’s current offer.

Wittman said the price being quoted nationwide for cable companies to carry the network is $1.10 per customer per month.

The problem is that customers wanting to see the Penguins-Buckeyes matchup will be paying for a channel that might be of limited interest after Sept. 1, Wittman said.

Other than a couple of Ohio State football games and a some Ohio State basketball games, local interest in the channel’s offerings might be limited, he said.

What customers want

Armstrong customers have made it clear that they do not want to see an increase in their monthly fee, especially for sports, Wittman said.

What they do want to see is increases in such products as high-definition programming, faster Internet speeds and additional features on telephones such as video phones, he said.

Part of the Big Ten Network’s demands is that Armstrong carry the channel on its basic cable package.

Using the company’s “band width” for the Big Ten Network would make it harder to provide the high-definition and other services customers want, he said.

“We’re disappointed that we cannot bring this game” to viewers, Wittmann said, noting that most Ohio State football games not carried by ABC or ESPN were made available to local networks in the past.

The Big Ten conference is choosing to “keep it to themselves” by allowing the game to be broadcast only on the Big Ten Network.

He noted that the conference could still allow the game to be broadcast on another network at the last minute but said that type of move is unlikely.

A spokesman at the Big Ten Network who declined to identify himself except to say that his last name is “Jones,” said negotiations are continuing with Armstrong and Time Warner, which provides the cable television service to about two-thirds of the Mahoning Valley.

What’s on Web site

The Big Ten Network Web site says the network will begin broadcasting at 7 p.m. Aug. 30 and will broadcast games Sept. 1 featuring Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Northwestern, Minnesota and the Indiana State-Indiana game.

The Web site says the network has reached agreements with several smaller cable companies in the Midwest, such as ones in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and Wadsworth, Ohio.

It has a regional agreement with Buckeye Cable, which serves northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.

The Big Ten Conference is the majority owner of Big Ten Network, with its proceeds divided equally among the 11 conference member universities, the Web site says.

The network is also affiliated with Fox Cable Networks.

runyan@vindy.com