It's understandable. The Big Ten fought to be included in the base package in every state they had a team. It wasn't an opt-in for consumers which meant that the size of the pie was all cable subscribers and not just Big 10 fans who opted in.
When the Big Ten was looking at Penn State, many people wondered if Pitt should also join the Big Ten in order to solidify Pennsylvania for the network. But Penn State was big enough to deliver the state. That round of expansion added Penn State and Nebraska. The following expansion brought in Rutgers and Maryland. Neither particularly strong football properties but they delivered the states of New Jersey, New York and Maryland to the network. The Big Ten did not need Pitt despite Pitt being a good fit for the conference academically and a better football property than Rutgers and Maryland.
By capturing UCLA and USC, the Big ten thinks they can capture all cable subscribers in the state and not just alumni and LA/San Diego.
"Through 2008, the distribution deals finally began falling into place. Cable companies didn’t want to go through a second football season with unhappy customers.
Comcast signed BTN in June 2008, and Time Warner took the fledgling network in August 2008, literally on the eve of the college football season. That gave BTN full distribution in its footprint."
When a consumer signs up as a satellite or cable tv subscriber, they typically will pick from a list of bundled channels. There may be a couple versions of a Basic package which includes 30-100 channels. These channels each earn a carriage rate for their inclusion into a bundle per household. Beyond the initial package people subscribe to, they may pick additional content bundles that include other channels. HBO, Showtime, Sports, etc...
In a basic subscriber package the provider typically carries local channels, community channels and then an assortment of entertainment channels including CNN, Fox News, ESPN, Discovery, etc... The Big Ten Network has succeeded in being carried by most midwestern cable/satellite providers as a Basic channel. Variety has a listing of carriage rates per channel, but I understood BTN to charge about $1.50 in the midwest but perhaps I'm wrong on the amount. https://variety.com/vip/pay-tv-true-cost-free-1234810682/ In states outside the Big Ten network, their channel might be included in an optional package that someone would have to pay in addition to a basic package.
This next contract for the Big Ten has them moving away from ABC/ESPN and towards NBC, CBS, Fox and their own cable channel (BTN) which is run by Fox. They earn money based on how the TV Networks value them and then on top of that by how many households are subscribed to their channel. Within the Big Ten footprint, they leverage for their channel to be included into basic cable channels which allows them to earn money based on the number of cable/satellite subscribers and not just viewership.
So to sum up and answer your question. Should the Big Ten succeed in their negotiations with cable channels in California, every customer will have the channel bundled into their basic cable package. Whether they watch the channel or not, they pay for it. Should they succeed, customers aren't entitled to sign up for a channel, they are paying for it as part of the fees for their basic channel bundle.
The Big Ten must have felt that USC/UCLA was the best combination to make this happen and not one Southern California school and a Northern California school. If they are right, Cal would cannibalize these earnings as the earnings would be the same but now with 3 instead of 2 universities.
This helps explain why Oregon and Washington might be considered more highly in the next expansion than a Cal. Notre Dame and any Florida school likely top the list.
It's understandable. The Big Ten fought to be included in the base package in every state they had a team. It wasn't an opt-in for consumers which meant that the size of the pie was all cable subscribers and not just Big 10 fans who opted in.
When the Big Ten was looking at Penn State, many people wondered if Pitt should also join the Big Ten in order to solidify Pennsylvania for the network. But Penn State was big enough to deliver the state. That round of expansion added Penn State and Nebraska. The following expansion brought in Rutgers and Maryland. Neither particularly strong football properties but they delivered the states of New Jersey, New York and Maryland to the network. The Big Ten did not need Pitt despite Pitt being a good fit for the conference academically and a better football property than Rutgers and Maryland.
By capturing UCLA and USC, the Big ten thinks they can capture all cable subscribers in the state and not just alumni and LA/San Diego.
https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2017/08/21/In-Depth/BTN-main.aspx
"Through 2008, the distribution deals finally began falling into place. Cable companies didn’t want to go through a second football season with unhappy customers.
Comcast signed BTN in June 2008, and Time Warner took the fledgling network in August 2008, literally on the eve of the college football season. That gave BTN full distribution in its footprint."
https://www.fiercevideo.com/cable/conference-drops-pricey-big-ten-network-non-conference-regions
In 2018 Comcast decreased distribution of BTN to only states that the Big Ten had a team, and not the entire Comcast footprint.
When a consumer signs up as a satellite or cable tv subscriber, they typically will pick from a list of bundled channels. There may be a couple versions of a Basic package which includes 30-100 channels. These channels each earn a carriage rate for their inclusion into a bundle per household. Beyond the initial package people subscribe to, they may pick additional content bundles that include other channels. HBO, Showtime, Sports, etc...
In a basic subscriber package the provider typically carries local channels, community channels and then an assortment of entertainment channels including CNN, Fox News, ESPN, Discovery, etc... The Big Ten Network has succeeded in being carried by most midwestern cable/satellite providers as a Basic channel. Variety has a listing of carriage rates per channel, but I understood BTN to charge about $1.50 in the midwest but perhaps I'm wrong on the amount. https://variety.com/vip/pay-tv-true-cost-free-1234810682/ In states outside the Big Ten network, their channel might be included in an optional package that someone would have to pay in addition to a basic package.
This next contract for the Big Ten has them moving away from ABC/ESPN and towards NBC, CBS, Fox and their own cable channel (BTN) which is run by Fox. They earn money based on how the TV Networks value them and then on top of that by how many households are subscribed to their channel. Within the Big Ten footprint, they leverage for their channel to be included into basic cable channels which allows them to earn money based on the number of cable/satellite subscribers and not just viewership.
So to sum up and answer your question. Should the Big Ten succeed in their negotiations with cable channels in California, every customer will have the channel bundled into their basic cable package. Whether they watch the channel or not, they pay for it. Should they succeed, customers aren't entitled to sign up for a channel, they are paying for it as part of the fees for their basic channel bundle.
The Big Ten must have felt that USC/UCLA was the best combination to make this happen and not one Southern California school and a Northern California school. If they are right, Cal would cannibalize these earnings as the earnings would be the same but now with 3 instead of 2 universities.
This helps explain why Oregon and Washington might be considered more highly in the next expansion than a Cal. Notre Dame and any Florida school likely top the list.