It has only been since August 1st, 2007 that the Big Ten Network has launched, but with the amount of frustrations experienced as a result of it, it seems like much longer to the average sports fan.

I’ve lived within the Big Ten footprint during this time, so naturally I’ve followed this situation carefully. My favorite team is not in my local area, so with this network I was supposed to be getting all of their games. All subscribers to both DirecTV and Dish Network have the network, while cable companies with the channel seem to be very few and very far between.

Frustrations and anxiety have been high as fans head out to bars/restaurants to catch games because they can’t get them at home. In the beginning, it seemed that most of the anger was focused on the cable companies for not making a deal, but now I’m mostly seeing anger directed at the Big Ten conference. After all, these games used to be broadcast for free on basic channels.

The few people that have the channel have now started to complain about the quality of their programming and announcers.

Another problem that has come about as a result of this channel is schools often now have to wait until 9:00 p.m. EST / 8:00 p.m. CST to start the games. As a result, attendance is down at most Big Ten games.

So where do you stand on this? Has the Big Ten Network been a success? If you are a fan of another conference, do you want your conference to launch their own network?

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