True North

The Big 10 Network is simply a funding scheme for major Universities, and as usual, these Universities which are addicted to your money, are trying to get Politicians to intervene in the free markets.

You see, right now, Big 10 Network is pretty hard to get. People have to want it so badly to go get it themselves, but if the planners of the scheme have their way, they'll get lawmakers to force cable and satellite networks to add the network to the basic packages.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak declared Friday, Sept. 28 as ‘Minnesota Big Ten Network Day.’

Rybak’s announcement came as a shock, due to the fledgling new network not being able to be received by most Minnesota cable customers.

Only Direct TV customers will be able to watch the Gophers on television this year. Normal cable subscribers will not be able to watch Gopher’s basketball games on television either. (source KSTP)

Why is that bad?

Because you will pay a few bucks for the Network whether you want it or not. Cable and satellite networks will have to pay Big 10 Network a certain amount for each and every subscriber.

Taking the failed scheme from a few thousand subscribers to literally millions, and the revenue flowing into the U will go up by millions and millions and millions. If Comcast is forced to add this, it will cost them millions. And what happens when a company is forced to do something in a more expensive way?

They raise their rates.

Not only do Minnesota taxpayers (not to mention tuition paying students) pay through the nose for the U, now they want to make watching TV more expensive.

These people spend more time trying to figure out how to get their hands on more of your money than they do educating students it seems.

Yes it is your money.

Crossposted at ResidualForces.com, go there to comment.