It's Bowtied Duck Of Infinite Stupidity time, kids!Comcast is locked in an unprecedented battle of public perception with the fledgling Big Ten Network that's seen network presidents and cable executives reach out to newspapers, internet sites, and even pissant bloggers like yours truly in an effort to get their message across. But now Comcast (or, rather, an amateurish PR firm hired by them) has raised the stupidity stakes by running around to various Big Ten message boards posting transparent drivel.
"Victory4MSU20" (post count: 1) pops up on Michigan State Scout site GoSpartans.net to offer this:
Yeah. "Greedmongers." This is an excellent impersonation of a typical Michigan State undegraduate's grasp on the language (tenuous), but identical messages have appeared all over, including Northwestern's and Michigan's Rivals sites and the enormous Spartan messageboard at SpartanTailgate.com. Which latter was a mistake, since SpartanTailgate proprietor Trevor Barnes is wise in the ways of the internets and outed the toolboxes in question as "Martin Waymire Advoacy Communications."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!!!
So if anyone out there is in need of some tone-deaf, completely transparent astroturfing, Martin Waymire and his merry band of greedmongers are here for you.
What a pointless waste of time. If the Big Ten Network doesn't get placed on cable systems across the Midwest, I'm not going to care if it's Comcast's fault or the Big Ten's fault, I'm just going to switch to something that has it. Comcast should save its money and pony up.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Yeah, but at the same time I see Comcast's stance. Why force everyone to pay the extra $1.10 a month when only hardcore fans like us plan on watching it?
Of course, I'm paying for the Home and Garden channel......
Either way, I just want the station available to me.
Posted at 9:56PM on Aug 20th 2007 by Fornelli
2. The BTN is a terrible idea, motivated essentially by greed. The old ESPN/ABC Gameplan may have not contributed funds to the eleven schools at the level the Big Ten leadership, but it was nevertheless a chunk of change. Plus, it meant that virtually all the conference meaningful games were available, especially out of the B10 area for viewing by fans and alums transplanted away from the teams they love to support. Now as many as six or more of some of the major conference players' games will not be available to routine out of area cable subscribers. Not everyone has access to DirecTV, and many cable companies will balk at paying a fee for the network if they are located in SEC or PAC Ten country for example. There are tons of Big Ten fans and alums throughout the country, and those disenfranchised by this greedy nonsense ought to rise up and blast the B10 leadership that has led to this travesty!
Posted at 11:46PM on Aug 20th 2007 by Richard
3. The Big Ten Network was caught shilling on Ohio State Fan sites. More details here...
http://www.killernuts.com/2007/07/26/big-ten-network-hiring-shills/
"In a recent KillerNuts forum thread regarding the Big Ten Network, a new user registered to post her feelings about the matter. While we encourage debate, her responses were a little too - how shall we say - “scripted?” Interestingly enough, this user has posted similar responses in other forums that are sympathetic to the BTN."
Posted at 1:25AM on Aug 21st 2007 by Burnsy
4. This whole thing just keeps getting sadder, more desperate, and oddly hilarious.
A Comcast-created website called "Putting the Fans First?" That's like Exxon creating a website called "Putting Oil Consumers First!"
And what about those pictures? Three guys painted maize and blue, jumping in the air (off their sandled feet) with the word "WIN" painted on their chests?! How much more generic could they have gotten? They should have included a picture of their six friends who banded together to write "GO TEAM" on their chests. And the MSU fan with the generic foam finger and "We're #1" sign, announcing what all diehard Spartan fans feel deep down: "Hey Big Ten Enough is Enough." The Iowa fan (who they accurately placed in bleached jeans and a grey sweatshirt under his generic jersey) proudly proclaiming "I just want the best games." And the lowest of the low: An African American father with his son and a remote, sadly reflecting, "Big Ten network should let us choose if we want it."
So that's what it comes to, huh Comcast? This isn't about money or bargaining. This is about the Big Ten Network enslaving future generations of African American football fans. Wow.
Who is the PR firm behind this? Did they really think fans would buy it? What's next, a BTN sponsored website called "Fans For Freedom?"
It's getting to the point where I'm starting not to care whether I get the games or not. As long as Comcast and BTN keep providing entertainment like this, I'm fine. I'll go to the sports bar. I'll get a satellite. Just please, don't let this PR train wreck stop! It's way too fun to watch.
Posted at 4:43AM on Aug 21st 2007 by BeantownBlue
5. This really is going to leave future college students with a bad taste in their mouths for big 10 schools. Other conference schools can use this against big 10 schools as a recruiting tactic saying they won;t be seen on TV as much.
Posted at 10:03AM on Aug 21st 2007 by rrosent
6. The following has been posted at SpartanTailgate.com. The posting should not have done anonymously.
To: Trevor Barnes and the posters at SpartanTailgate.com:
Please accept my apologies for the post by one of my company’s employees regarding the Big 10 Network’s insistence that the new channel be forced on all cable customers, not just those interested in sports. You were right to “out” that posting, as it did not clearly point out our company does work for Comcast (which did not pre-approve the message posted).
Our staffer is indeed a MSU student, and did attend Commissioner Delaney’s kickoff in East Lansing. And he is a big Spartan fan. Given a chance to buy the network as part of a sports tier, he probably would!
That doesn’t excuse our failure to identify that the posting was done by our company advocating for a particular position.
Again, my apologies. Go Spartans…at least until they play my Northwestern Wildcats!
David Waymire
Martin Waymire Advocacy Communications
Posted at 2:29PM on Aug 21st 2007 by davidwaymire
7. This is pathetic. Comcast is "putting fans first" by "allowing" us to shoulder the entire burden of the BTN without subsidization, unlike all sorts of garbage (Golf Channel, Oxygen, Noggin, etc) that we are forced to subsidize. This campaign is transparent enough for me to believe that an MSU grad was actually involved.
Frankly, I didn't hear Comcast stand up to protect me when "Animal Planet" or "FitTV" became basic digital networks. But now? They fall all over themselves to protect the delicate "Discovery Health" viewers from subsidizing anything beyond reality shows about white suburban people. I will be switching to Direct TV this fall, when basketball starts, if this network isn't on the basic tier.
Posted at 7:54PM on Aug 21st 2007 by apop55
8. There's an anti-BTN website, www.puttingfansfirst.com, that claims to be a "coalition of sports superfans and concerned consumers." From every indication, it's a front for Comcast. If you Google the names of the "Concerned Consumers and Taxpayers," you'll find lots and lots of people employed by or affiliated with Comcast.
Posted at 10:47AM on Aug 23rd 2007 by Ron Estes
9. Realistically, I'm getting ripped off for every channel I don't want to pay for. I called my cable company, Insight, getting cable & was told I would have to pay $57/month for one channel since it's not on the basic tier.
Posted at 1:36PM on Aug 23rd 2007 by Ken
10. As a former student and employee of Purdue, I would naturally like to see Purdue and Big Ten games more. But if the price of getting it is to switch to DIRECT TV and/or lining the pocket of that scumbag Rupert Murdoch (more Bill O"Reilly, anyone?), I think I'll just read about the game in the paper the next day.
Posted at 9:28PM on Aug 25th 2007 by Jim Speck
11. The fan is stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. On one hand I see BTN's logic: Hey - we get Animal Planet and the Travel network on the basic tier - there's bound to be more regional interest in BTN, right? It's an absolutely valid argument.
At the same time - BTN wants $1.10 per viewer; a cost that would be passed to the customer. The NFL Network, which only a delusional Big Ten fan would say has fewer fans than College Football, only charges something like $0.70 per customer.
If BTN were to drop their cost to, say $0.50 or $0.60 per customer, then the ComCasts of the world wouldn't have a leg to stand on. But at $1.10 per customer, it's highway robbery.
I guess local sports bars will be making a killing, though.
Posted at 3:00PM on Aug 27th 2007 by rossi43004
12. Let's break this down Minnesota style
ALL THE BEST GAMES WERE ALREADY ON FREE TV.
Translation--Ummmm, Minnesota fans, you're got going to see the gophers unless you are playing Mich, OSU, or are willing to pay for Game Plan. Otherwise, get a good supply of batteries for the radio.
MOST BIG TEN SCHOOLS ARE TAXPAYER SUBSIDIZED, THIS IS ANOTHER TAX ON CABLE VIEWERS
Maybe it's not true elsewhere, but here, the U of M is prohibited BY LAW from using their appropriation for athletics. How can this even be a tax.
THE NETWORK, WHICH SHOULD BE AVAILABLE TO THOSE THAT WANT IT.
Maybe. But don't we all have channels (be it DirecttTV, cable, or rabbit ears) that we never watch (Fine Living, Oxygen, name your own).
For us here in Gopher country, we are finally going to get a full season of football on TV, not to mention some other sports that usually wind up on tape delay on FSN at 2 am. What's wrong with that?
Posted at 8:56PM on Aug 28th 2007 by Scott
13. Here's the angry letter I just fired off to those Comcast idiots...
NONE of your subscribers are buying in to this bizarre "put the fans first" campaign. You are NOT thinking of your loyal subscribers in any way. Vying for better leverage in negotiations with the Big Ten at the cost of alienating subscribers is a dangerous game. I WANT THE B10 NETWORK ON MY BASIC CABLE PACKAGE ASAP. This nonsense of passing $1.10 per month on to subscribers that don't want the network is ludicrous. I don't recall being consulted when the Speed Channel or Style or HGTV or any of several "silly" channels that I don't care for were added to my basic service. Variety is what you should offer and adding the B10 Network would not require you to subtract any other network. I'm also well aware that you can defer the cost of the network through advertising and other revenue streams.
Quit insulting your subscribers and quit insulting me.
I GUARENTEE you that if the B10 Network isn't available from Comcast soon, I will cancel my service and find a provider that offers the network.
Posted at 1:10PM on Aug 30th 2007 by Robert M
14. Robert--
That's EXACTLY my point. That is why we went to DirectTV 3 years ago. Sports has nothing to do with it. We had channels on only for HALF a day (try having EWTN cut off before Daily Mass is over and see how you like it) and popular channels moved to higher tiers. Our local franchise even tried a "pay-per-view" scam for some sports events (blackout the channel, then when you call, demand $12.95 for the game--they got fined on that one). Now here in Mpls/St Paul, they have an outright snear campaign directed entirely at DirecTV.
The bottom line, Comcast needs to learn about the FREE MARKET. People will turn to whoever can give them what they want at the best quality and price (showing Libertarian streak here). It's as simple as that. But then again, what do you expect from a company ran by one of the hard line ownwers that helped cause the 2004-05 NHL non season.
Posted at 12:26AM on Aug 31st 2007 by Scott
15. I feel that Comcast should invest in the Big Ten Channel.As with everything else it has a price.
Any one who enjoy sports is willing to pay the price.
Posted at 7:18AM on Aug 31st 2007 by jerry heiss
16. Comcast should provide the Big Ten Network free to all subscribers, If they don't we should all pull out of Comcast and go to Direct TV.
Posted at 10:01PM on Sep 1st 2007 by Richard Putz
17. Its one thing to add unique channels but another freakin' Sports channel? How about another religious channel, shopping network or 24 Hour News channel... no I know I really don't think there are enough channels for kids. Come on!!! Give me a freakin' break.
I shouldn't have to pay to support Christians who want to couch worship, Electronic Babysitters for Breeders, Shopping Addictions and certainly not a channel that plays sports I already pay for in my taxes.
Do I think Comcast really has my interest at heart? Of course not, but I'm sure glad they are fighting this new sport channel. I don't need to be paying for yet another channel I have no interest in.
Sorry Jockos... you're on your own here.
Posted at 8:29AM on Sep 3rd 2007 by Shannon
18. We pay too much money as it is to cable, now we are forced to pay to watch a U of M game. How far does cable/comcast greed go? I want the game back on the networks as they should be.
Posted at 2:10PM on Sep 5th 2007 by Tina M Milligan
19. We had the Big 10 Network at our tailgate because we had directv and a satilite dish. At home, I can't get it because of Comcast. I really don't want to pay extra for a whole Comcast sport's tier that I don't want and won't use. I would pay extra to get the single channel that I want but I don't think that I should be blackmailed into subscribing to 6 or 7 channels that I don't want. It was bad enough when Comcast moved the NFL channel to its sports tier. They did that in the summer so people would not notice. I am about ready to move everything to Directv even though I prefer many of the Comcast features.
Posted at 3:11PM on Sep 5th 2007 by msu tailgater
20. Fortunately I did not attend a big ten school. I attended a MAC school. I am extremely ticked that I would have to pay for something I don't use. I am a loyal Red Wings Fan/Nut. I would have to pay for the NHL channels to follow the league for our competitors. If they want to charge me for this particular network I don't want, then charge for all sports channels. You want this channel, then pay for it seperately. The Big Ten is powerful and will always be there. I still would not even pay for it if my University was on it. Cable is not cheap to begin with. After all look at all the other channels which I have seen games on: ESPN,ESPN2, Fox, Fox sports, nbc, abc, cbs. Gee is that not enough. Gosh I hope this does not go through. Whether it is 2 cents/ month or what I have been told by my provider:comcast 10.95/month. I simply don't want it. I would even boycott cable. I personally know well over 30 people whom of which are spartan/wolverine/buckeye fans whom don't want it either. Everyone I know include my own family will most definitely cancel our cable. I just hope the unintelligent people out there who are on the 15th green right now don't go through with this and drag those of us whom have to work for a living into this predicament.
Posted at 12:17PM on Nov 6th 2007 by Pogoncheff