More people have access to Big Ten Network than before and more people are checking it out than ever before. A few years ago most people had to flip through the stations or check the listings to see what games were on. Now with digital cable and satellite, viewers can scan the channels in the morning and plan their viewing to see the games they want to see. This means less yard work getting done and more couch sitting. Just what they want!

On the front page of the site there is a link to follow either the RSS feed for the comments or the content. You click on that link and from there I believe you should be able to figure it out. I think you want to click on “subscribe to this feed” in the comments one.

If that’s not it…I’m not really sure what to tell you. Hope this helps though.

and that’s a very good thing. and obviously I’m really glad it exists as it is probably the channel I watch the most.

but for them to have their best viewership day during football season (notice I said best viewership day, not time slot) doesn’t make sense. Obviously I can tell why they had a high viewership time slot, but a whole day??

Because it’s a basketball conference now. the sec owns all the attendance records in the nation for football, the big 10 owns all the basketball records. and the league will be a lot stronger on the hardwood this year than on the gridiron.

I think you’re underestimating the popularity of Big Ten football within the Big Ten footprint. If the release has stated the BTN had the highest ratings in the nation, then I might believe this theory. But they’re just the highest ratings in the region.

Contrary to popular belief, Big Ten alums are passionate about their football, even if the teams aren’t that good. You also have to take into consideration that a lot of these games would not be on television were it not for the BTN. So fans used to not seeing their team on a consistent basis now have an outlet, even if it means watching Indiana get its butt kicked every week.

It’s also not a coincidence that the first time Michigan v. Michigan State is aired on BTN, they get their highest ratings. Aside from maybe Ohio, I imagine Michigan has the most diehard viewers (Michigan and Michigan State alums) of the states in the Big Ten footbprint.

Also, the ratings you use only apply to the football games. I seriously doubt that a game gets higher ratings because the sideline reporter is hot. In fact, the sideline reporter is only shown on TV during pregame, halftime and post game. Very rarely are they shown during the game. Notice how the release doesn’t mention the studios shows and how they performed in their time slots. It only talks about the football games.

I think the BTN’s growing success can be attributed to its basketball and Olympic sports coverage. Unlike football, a greater percentage of basketball games are on the BTN because the Big East and ACC dominate ESPN. This has to draw in a ton of viewers, who then stick around for the other shows on the network.

There is also coverage of the non-revenue sports. For many of these teams, this is the only coverage they get and the only chance for its fans to watch them. Alums are very proud of their school. Even if Joe Blow from Penn State doesn’t care about women’s volleyball, he might be interested in following Penn State’s team, which is a national power. The BTN allows him to do this.

The BTN isn’t perfect, but it’s a pretty cool place to follow your university’s athletic program, along with the revenue sports. While the BTN has clearly made some hires in order to attract mouth-breathing Neanderthal sport fans, I think the people in the Big Ten should be given credit for actually making this work for now.