Comcast, Big Ten sign carriage deal
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Comcast Corp and Big Ten Network said on Thursday they have signed a long-term agreement for the leading U.S. cable operator to carry Big Ten's college sports programming across television, broadband and video-on-demand starting August 15.
Comcast will initially carry Big Ten as part of its expanded basic level of service in seven states with Big Ten universities including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
Under the terms of the agreement Comcast may elect to move Big Ten to a broadly distributed digital level of service in most of its systems in those states.
The companies said outside of the Big Ten states that Comcast serves, Comcast has the option to provide Big Ten Network programming on any level of service, including its Sports Entertainment package.
Big Ten Network is a joint venture between News Corp's Fox Cable Networks and Big Ten Conference, one of the largest college sports associations.
(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke; editing by Carol Bishopric)
