The story
History
The network's foundation traces back to 2004, following negotiations between the Big Ten and ESPN on an extension of the conference's broadcast contract with the network. With three years remaining in the existing deal, the conference sought a significant increase in rights fees. ESPN, however, balked, causing Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany to begin exploring the creation of his own network.
The launch of the Big Ten Network was announced on June 21, 2006, as a 20-year joint project between the Big Ten Conference and Fox Entertainment Group. At launch, the conference owned 51% of the network, while Fox owned a minority interest and handled its operations. The network was positioned to be the first ever cable channel dedicated to a single collegiate conference. The network also has a commitment to "event equality", stating it would produce and distribute an equal number of men's and women's events across all platforms, within three years of its launch. The deal was meant to replace the Big Ten's television contract with ESPN's ESPN Plus regional television package. ESPN Plus games were typically only seen on one broadcast television station in a team's local market (for example, the Illinois Fighting Illini aired its games on Champaign, Illinois CBS affiliate WCIA (channel 3)).
Big Ten Network was launched at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on August 30, 2007, with Big Ten Tonight as its inaugural program. The network aired its first live telecasts two days later on September 1, which included a football game between Appalachian State and Michigan – the game gained national attention for its upset victory; being the first win by a Division I FCS team over a ranked Division I FBS team since Division I was split into two subdivisions by the NCAA in 1978. On September 2, the network aired its first women's sports event (a soccer match between Syracuse University and Michigan State) and its first men's non-revenue sports event (a soccer match between UCLA at Indiana).
The new network suffered from limited carriage on its launch, as it was only carried by two major television providers. By the following year, the network had reached its goal to attain carriage on the "extended basic" tiers of cable providers in all Big Ten markets. While no specifics were revealed, Fox increased its stake in the Big Ten Network to 51% in June 2010, acquiring majority control, using a provision in its contract with the conference. To coincide with the 2011 college football season, the network unveiled a new logo that made "BTN" the primary name of the channel, and introduced a new TV Everywhere service known as "BTN2Go," which offers live streaming of BTN telecasts and other programming through a web browser or mobile app. The service was initially available to subscribers of Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, DirecTV and Dish Network.
BTN and Dish Network were involved in a dispute leading up to the expiration of the satellite provider's contract with the network in August 2012, a day before that year's college football season began. The network was temporary blacked out for eight days beginning on September 14, giving way to a new agreement that restored BTN on Dish Network on September 22.
In July 2017, as part of a new six-year agreement that made Fox the primary television rightsholder of regular season Big Ten football games, Fox's contract to run BTN was extended through 2032. Concurrent with these agreements, BTN became the de jure owner of the Big Ten's media rights, with all future media rights deals officially being sublicenses of these rights to other broadcasters. This aspect of the agreement became relevant upon the conference's next round of media rights in 2023, when it was discovered that the conference could not sublicense the Big Ten football championship without paying compensation to Fox.
On December 14, 2017, 21st Century Fox announced it would sell a majority of its assets to The Walt Disney Company, owners of ESPN, SEC Network and the then-upcoming ACC Network, in a transaction valued at over $52 billion. 21st Century Fox's stake in the Big Ten Network was not included in the deal and was spun off to the significantly downsized Fox Corporation, along with the Fox network, Fox News, Fox Business, FS1, and FS2. The deal was approved by Disney and Fox shareholders on July 27, 2018, and was completed on March 20, 2019.
The network introduced a new logo on October 23, 2020, coinciding with the start of the delayed 2020 football season. The new logo returns to using "Big Ten Network" as the primary name of the channel, and incorporates the conference's "B1G" wordmark. In 2021, the Big Ten sold part of its stake to Fox. As a result of the sale, the Big Ten's ownership stake decreased to 39% while Fox's increased to 61%.
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Original programs
The B1G Show – a half-hour show airing on most weekdays that is similar to ESPN's SportsCenter; it offers highlights and discussion of Big Ten sporting events. The program is currently anchored by Dave Revsine, Rick Pizzo, Mike Hall and Lisa Cornwell. Other reporters and analysts appear depending on the sport being discussed.
Big Ten Football Saturday – a program airing Saturdays (with pre-game, halftime and post-game editions) during the college football season, which features discussions and highlights of the day's games. It is hosted by Dave Revsine, with analysis provided by Gerry DiNardo (nicknamed by the hosts as "Coach") and Howard Griffith.
Big Ten Tailgate – originally titled Friday Night Tailgate, it is a Friday night program that takes a lighthearted and irreverent look at campus life surrounding the weekend of a Big Ten football game. It was host was Mike Hall, with correspondents Charissa Thompson and Chicago-area improv actors Jordan Klepper, Steve Waltien, and Tim Baltz. 90-minute In 2010, the show was cut to 60 minutes and was renamed as Big Ten Tailgate.
Big Ten Tip-Off Show – a pre-game show airing during the regular season from November to March discussing the day's basketball games; it is hosted by Dave Revsine, with analysis provided by Gene Keady, Jimmy Jackson, Tim Doyle and Kendall Gill.
Coaches Q&A – a program featuring excerpts from the week's press conferences around the conference.
The Big Ten's Greatest Games – a showcase of classic football and basketball games, with editing of some non-essential game action out to fit time constraints.
The Big Ten Women's Show – an hour-long Monday night program covering women's sports throughout the conference.
The Big Ten Quad – a weekly sports discussion show with Big Ten legends.
Big Ten Cookout – a half-hour live cooking/tailgate show on Saturday mornings, taking place at a different university campus within the conference each week; it is hosted by Melanie Collins, alongside chefs Julius Russell and former Hell's Kitchen season five contestant Ben Walanka.
The Big Ten's Best – a weekly countdown show with lists of the top 10 Big Ten teams or players in a certain category, such as "best running backs of the 1990s" or "best quarterbacks of the 1980s"; hosted by Charissa Thompson.
Various coach's shows
University Showcase – a program block of non-sports campus produced programs; each school has equal time.
Student U – Game broadcasts produced by university broadcast departments involving students controlling production and play-by-play which are usually seen only on closed-circuit campus cable networks.
"Big Ten Frozen Fridays" – a hockey pregame show on Friday nights, airing before most Big Ten hockey game telecasts, featuring game previews and highlights from around the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Football: Breakdown – a weekly series airing on Tuesdays in which Big Ten coaches and players review the previous week's game footage, with network analysts providing a look at the nuances of the game and what affected the teams' success.
Big Ten Football: Sites & Sounds – a Wednesday night program that includes segments from press conferences, media interviews and the games, as well as other behind-the-scenes footage, hosted from the network's Chicago studios.
Big Ten Football: Behind the Schemes – airing Thursday nights, it is a breakdown featuring the network's resident head coach analysts, analyzing footage of the previous week's games and putting together game plans for games being held that week.
Big Ten Football… & Beyond – a Friday night program previewing the weekend's upcoming games with reports from each Big Ten stadium and a look at key national matchups that could impact the conference postseason.
Big Ten Film Vault – a program, hosted by Dan Dierdorf, showcasing a vintage Big Ten film from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Big Ten Icons – a series highlighting a Big Ten athlete from a wide range of sports and history. Notable subjects include Jesse Owens, Jack Nicklaus and Steve Alford.
The Journey: Big Ten Basketball – a Sunday night documentary-style series following multiple teams each week throughout the conference's 10-week basketball season.
Big Ten Treasure Hunter – a program starring memorabilia collector John Arcand in which he travels around Big Ten territories and make negotiations with fans to buy Big Ten memorabilia.
Former
Big Ten Hoops: On Campus – an hour-long Friday night program (hosted by Mike Hall, Jim Jackson, Tiffany Simons and Natalie Kane) featuring visits to different campuses each week to showcase the loyalty and tradition behind Big Ten basketball and its fans.
This Week in Big Ten Basketball – a Sunday night program providing comprehensive breakdowns of the week's college basketball action involving Big Ten teams; it was hosted by Dave Revsine, Jim Jackson and Dan Dakich.
From Wikipedia’s article on Big Ten Network, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4