The Big Ten Conference added a swath of teams on the West Coast this offseason. But will fans on the West Coast even get to watch?
Awful Announcing wrote this week that Comcast Xfinity subscribers on the West Coast are subject to blackouts on Big Ten Network for Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA games this season.
“There, Comcast subscribers in those schools’ areas who get the Big Ten Network are being blocked from watching games with those schools (and only those schools),” Awful Announcing’s Andrew Bucholtz wrote. “That’s reportedly over Comcast declining to pay higher in-market rates after those schools’ conference realignment moves. But those subscribers can still watch other, non-local schools on BTN.”
AA explained that this is happening entirely because Comcast declined to pay a higher rate after the realignment news. Considering the Big Ten is wrapped up with NBC and Peacock, the strangeness of it makes for a highly frustrating situation ahead of college football’s kickoff to the 2024 season.
Carriage disputes ahead of the fall season aren’t a new trend. In years past, these situations have played out. This is unique in how it’s playing out, but it will prove interesting if a resolution comes. There would probably have to be a lot of finagling, but then again, maybe this should have been worked out already.
