I have Comcast and I happened to notice the other day that BTN had been removed from my channel lineup. Losing it wasn't an issue for me as watching it apparently required an additional subscription or a higher tier than what I was paying for so it's not like I ever watched it anyway. That and I'm not a B1G fan so it's not as though there was anything on it I desperately wanted to watch.

Well, now we know why:

Awful Announcing reports on Comcast dropping BTN outside of conference footprint

B1G fans in B1G states will still get to watch it, but it looks like it's been completely dropped out of market. Most interestingly, it appears Comcast considers New York, DC proper, and Northern Virginia to be "out of market."

That's certainly a blow to the B1G's recent strategy of adding new members based on nearby mega-markets.

I've had Comcast for a very long time and I can tell you that carriage fights are very unusual for this company. I have friends who get Dish Network, for example, and it seems like they've got carriage fights going on with various entities all the time. Comcast doesn't work like that. It's kind of expensive, but it's incredibly rare that they drop a channel.

Let's also consider that Comcast is based in Philadelphia and I'm sure there are plenty of B1G alumni working in key positions for the company. It's not like this is a corporation that is disconnected from the region.

And for all the talk that "B1G alumni are everywhere," and I'm sure they are for that matter, they don't outnumber the locals. I'm sure there are some B1G alumni that will change carriers if they have the opportunity, but Comcast already knows that.

Comcast likely made this decision because it became evident this wasn't a good business decision. This would seem to be a strong indication to me that BTN just wasn't very well watched outside the B1G footprint. If that's true for a large company like Comcast that usually doesn't quibble over small things then I'm going to bet there are other companies that might follow suit.

I don't want to crow too much because the way the market is moving, I suppose the same thing could happen to the SEC in the not too distant future. It's certainly interesting though.

While it's true that football season is coming and there will be some who petition Comcast to bring the network back, I don't see Comcast putting themselves in a position to lose a PR battle like that. I think it's far more likely that they know exactly what they're doing.

What?!?


How could a thing like this happen to the guy who...
...kicked off modern conference expansion by grabbing Penn State in one of his first acts as commissioner (and ultimately all but killing football independence)
...poached Big XII founding member Nebraska, starting an exodus of that league
...poached ACC founding member Maryland, almost causing the same there
...led a move to block conference deregulation as sponsored by the ACC because, as he put it, "I want to have some familiarity -- some knowledge as to how these things are going to play out. I don't want unintended consequences. I don't want to wake up one morning and see some odd structure that's unfamiliar." (as if he should have the right to approve or deny everything other conferences do).

Nah, this guy has never done anything to damage college football - why should he have to suffer like this? [/sarcasm]


[couldn't happen to a "nicer" guy]

(04-13-2018 06:32 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  What?!?


How could a thing like this happen to the guy who...
...kicked off modern conference expansion by grabbing Penn State in one of his first acts as commissioner (and ultimately all but killing football independence)
...poached Big XII founding member Nebraska, starting an exodus of that league
...poached ACC founding member Maryland, almost causing the same there
...led a move to block conference deregulation as sponsored by the ACC because, as he put it, "I want to have some familiarity -- some knowledge as to how these things are going to play out. I don't want unintended consequences. I don't want to wake up one morning and see some odd structure that's unfamiliar." (as if he should have the right to approve or deny everything other conferences do).

Nah, this guy has never done anything to damage college football - why should he have to suffer like this? [/sarcasm]


[couldn't happen to a "nicer" guy]

Well Mark, he is a Chapel Hill grad, and a basketball player, so what the heck did you expect? Privilege over others just goes with that resume.

(04-13-2018 11:35 AM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-13-2018 06:32 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  What?!?


How could a thing like this happen to the guy who...
...kicked off modern conference expansion by grabbing Penn State in one of his first acts as commissioner (and ultimately all but killing football independence)
...poached Big XII founding member Nebraska, starting an exodus of that league
...poached ACC founding member Maryland, almost causing the same there
...led a move to block conference deregulation as sponsored by the ACC because, as he put it, "I want to have some familiarity -- some knowledge as to how these things are going to play out. I don't want unintended consequences. I don't want to wake up one morning and see some odd structure that's unfamiliar." (as if he should have the right to approve or deny everything other conferences do).

Nah, this guy has never done anything to damage college football - why should he have to suffer like this? [/sarcasm]


[couldn't happen to a "nicer" guy]

Well Mark, he is a Chapel Hill grad, and a basketball player, so what the heck did you expect? Privilege over others just goes with that resume.

Class of '70.