I know that the comical launch of the Big 10/1 Network is usually Sen. Blutarsky’s specialty, but it’s interesting to watch the Big 10 attempt to mirror the strategies of some other specialty sports networks like the NFL Network. The NFL Network doesn’t come cheap, $100 million dollars in the case of Time Warner cable, so cable operators are considering adding the network to their premium "Sports Tier" packages where customers who want the NFL Network will pay for it. The NFL naturally wants cable operators to place the network on basic cable where it would reach the most eyeballs.

The standoff is to the point where cable operators have begun arming their CSRs with responses when customers call in to complain. An NFL spokesperson responds,

"Time Warner wants the network on a sports tier — where fans would have to pay extra," he said. "That’s not something we’re willing to do — have our fans exploited for Time Warner’s profits."

That’s right…Time Warner can’t exploit our fans for profits. Only we can exploit our fans for profits! Does this sound familiar? The Big 10 seems to think that they too belong next to CNN (h/t of course to Get the Picture):

“When the cable company decides to send 70 channels – the food channel, and the dog channel and the bike channel and the jewelry channel – into your home, (we believe) that the Big Ten Network deserves to be in that grouping,” Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said. “Everything else is pretty negotiable.”

If the NFL Network, an existing channel with some actual live professional football games, is struggling with cable providers over its placement in the cable lineups, what chance does Iowa volleyball have?