Illinois’ Big Ten Conference schools say they’re thrilled with the settlement of a long-stalled cable TV deal. Comcast has agreed to add the Big Ten-only sports channel to expanded basic service in much of the Midwest this next school year.
Jim Phillips is athletic director at Northwestern University.
PHILLIPS: I’m not sure you can put a value on it getting done before the season, but I think it was critical. And it was a challenging process for everybody involved.
The Big Ten and Comcast were unable to agree on which cable package would include the channel. Since it launched last August, many conference games had been unavailable to fans with Comcast service.
The company has 1.7 million cable subscribers in the Chicago area.