Aug. 30, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Members of the Penn State and State College communities celebrated tonight's highly-anticipated launch of the Big Ten Network by gathering at the HUB-Robeson Center on campus.
Approximately 100 Penn State students, administrators and staff, along with the Penn State cheerleaders, the Nittany Lion and several members of the media, surrounded the HUB's big screen TV for the 8:00 p.m. launch of the national network. Penn State President Graham Spanier, Director of Athletics Tim Curley and Nittany Lion basketball coach Ed DeChellis were among the attendees.
Studio host Dave Revsine was joined by analysts Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith for a special edition of Big Ten Tonight, as they previewed the Big Ten football season, which begins Saturday. Big Ten Tonight will air nightly on the network with scores, highlights and features.
Penn State's season-opener against Florida International, which kicks off at noon Saturday in Beaver Stadium, will air on the Big Ten Network, which can be viewed locally in the State College area on campus cable channel 20 and D&E cable channel 68, and nationally on DirecTV channel 221. The area's largest cable provider, Comcast, has not yet agreed to carry the network.
At least three Penn State football games and approximately 20 Nittany Lion basketball games will air on the Big Ten Network during the upcoming year, including the FIU and Buffalo (Sept. 15) football games and at least one conference clash. At least 15 of Penn State's conference men's basketball games will air on the network.
Penn State's field hockey, women's volleyball and men's and women's soccer teams will appear on the Big Ten Network this fall.
To get the Big Ten Network, fans should call 1-866-WANT-B10 and record a message or be patched through to their cable operator and request that the network be a part of their expanded basic package. Comcast customers should call 1-215-665-1700 to request the Big Ten Network.
The Big Ten Network will televise 350-400 events during its inaugural year, including 39 football games, 140 men's basketball games, including 64 of the 99 intra-conference games, women's basketball and more than 170 Olympic sport events.
The Big Ten Network is a national television network, available to all cable and satellite providers nationwide, that will allow fans to see their home teams regardless of where they live. The network currently has national agreements in place with DirecTV (Ch. 220) and AT&T and agreements with more than 90 cable operators within the eight states of the Big Ten. In total, the network currently is available to viewers in more than 16 million homes. The Big Ten Network is a joint venture between subsidiaries of the Big Ten Conference and Fox Cable Networks.
The Big Ten Network will air approximately 70 live Penn State events during its inaugural year. The vast majority of Penn State's 29 varsity sports will be featured on the Big Ten Network in 2007-08, in addition to at least 60 hours of institutional, non-athletic programming.
For more information regarding the Big Ten Network, visit www.BigTenNetwork.com.