Comcast's PR agency has been caught posing as fans on messageboards in an effort to spread their propaganda about the "Big Ten" channel. For those of you who don't care about college football (this includes us) the Big Ten channel is a channel about Big Ten football. It's causing some controversy because it's taking games off of regular non-pay TV and putting them on a special cable channel. People who don't care about Big Ten football don't want to pay extra for Comcast to carry this channel and people who do care about Big Ten football don't want to pay extra for it either. So it's a channel no one wants to pay for, as far as we can tell.
From Fanhouse:
"Victory4MSU20" (post count: 1) pops up on Michigan State Scout site GoSpartans.net to offer this:Yes, that is the most authentic post ever. Luckily for us (who would have been fooled by this earnest poster's use of common internet colloquialisms such as "greedmongers" and "b-ball ") the post has been traced to Martin Waymire Advoacy Communications. Whoops. Fail. Astroturfing is never cool, and all these various sports channel wars are bad for consumers.I'm a big fan of State sports so I went to the Big 10 Network's kick-off party in East Lansing last week. Big 10 Commissioner Jim Delaney was there telling everybody how great this new TV package is going to be for college football and b-ball fans. WHAT A CROCK! Delaney is like the emperor who wore no clothes...the BTC has already sold its best games to ABC and ESPN. How delusional is Delaney and these other Big 10 greedmongers who want to charge us for the games we'd be able to see on our local cable station? If you want to learn more about the Big 10's big time rip off, I found a web site that explains a lot... www.puttingfansfirst.org
VICTORY FOR MSU!!!
Comcast Posing as Big Ten Fans in Anti-BTN Astroturfing Campaign [Fanhouse via Deadspin]
]]>@mconfoy: I said in my post more games will be seen. What my problem is, is that making a conference exclusive channel and showing it on one network (comcast, not dish, not direct tv, not anything else) severly limits the number of people (including fans of that team) who see those games. So it doesn't matter that more games will be shown if less people are going to see them.
I agree with the concept overall. It is great to have a channel where you will be able to see all your teams games. BUT and this is a strong but, they are simply going about it the wrong way and instead limiting the ammount of people who will see those games.
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I think you did miss the point about College sports not being proffessional sports.
Other than that, this is pretty lame. Conference specific channels suck. I live in Provo, home of BYU, and last year was the first year of the MTN. a Mountain West specific channel that only runs on Comcast. It severly limited the number of people (including journalists who vote in the AP poll, coaches, everyone) who saw them put together a very impressive season. Half of their fans didnt even see it.
The idea that these kinds of channels will be beneficial for the conference is ridiculous. Yes more games will be seen, more teams will get more television time, but whats the point if nobody will even see it?
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And here is the public apology from the PR firm's owner:
[www.spartantailgate.com]
Professional sports are the opiate of the masses. They steal mind-space, distract people from truly important issues, promote childish and irresponsible behavior, greatly reward people who contribute absolutely nothing of actual value to society, and mislead others into believing that they can obtain, and in fact deserve, ridiculous excess and wealth while providing nothing to anyone in return. Pro sports are a scourge and distraction from the declining state of our nation.
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Hee hee. Ben, I think you guys have pissed off someone so badly (Wal-Mart, is that YOU?!) that they told their PR consultants to make an astroturf ConsumeristSux.com site.
Aww, that's so cute!
Hey Limiter, if we bother to look you up, when we expose you, you promise to run naked around your office and post to youtube? Dangly bits a-hopping?
VICTORY FOR CONSUMER ADVOCACY!!!
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-First, we don't need another channel that is only good for a few months out of the year.
-Second, The Big Ten Network wants ESPN league money!
This story has been all over the radio around here and its been reported that Big10 Network wants something like $1.50 per subscriber and therefore making it one of the most expensive channels on cable.
As it looks now unless you have DirecTV, you won't be watching the first two Buckeye games at your home.
]]>"The nye mets are my favorite squadron."
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@KILLAVANILLA
On the other hand, I've had DirecTV in my area for the past year or so and have experienced less down-time than my comcastic friends. I can't argue that they have problems with their HD but the overall package, for the money, is considerable better than cable or DishNetwork in my opinion.
Kinda sucks because the only decent provider we have is DirecTV and they run around 50 usd for a standard package. :/
]]>DirecTV may be cheaper, but there are more outages and more instances of imperfect reception. Plus their HD is seriously flawed.
I am taking advantage of a year of 1/2 price service from Comcast while I eagerly anticipate FiOS. (And no, I am not a Verizon troll, even though I properly entered 'FiOS')
????
]]>What a shocker.
This is part of the whole 'sports entertainment package' comcast is trying to force down customers throats.
NFL network is the real loss here for me.
From what I can tell, Comcast is simply too greedy to offer viewers ala carte programming. They know that many fans will simply pony up the $8 a month and just NOT WATCH big 10, OLN, and BET Jazz. As a consumer of comcast's services, I am furious and considering a switch.
NFL network should be ala carte or INCLUDED.
Comcast has the most expensive service in the area. Tell me again why I shouldn't get direct TV or dish network?
I care about Big 10 football, and I would not and will not pay for this.
WHAT A CROCK!!?!!?!1
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