Comcast Now Supplies Big Ten To Basic Cable In Maryland

May 5, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Big Ten Conference commissioner Jim Delany addresses the media during the NCAA basketball Big East/Big Ten press conference at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

If your cable subscriber was Comcast and you thought you weren’t going to be able to see Maryland Terrapins games shown on the Big Ten network because you didn’t want to pay for it, fear not. Coach Edsall was one of the first to chime in on the news:

According to Big Ten president Jim Delaney:

"It indicates that the Eastern initiative is moving forward in the direction we hoped it would, and that it means that Big Ten fans and college sports fans will be able to access 24/7 BTN on basic or digital basic carriage. Our goal was to achieve distribution in New York and D.C., Maryland and New Jersey. That’s good news for the fans and good news for BTN and Rutgers and Maryland and all Big Ten fans in that region."

The news is a nice win for consumers and Maryland (along with other new markets in the ever-expanding Big Ten footprint) fans, because paying to watch your team play more than you already are is annoying. Now consumers get the choice of whether or not they want to purchase the Big Ten Network down the line (when the cable company eventually starts to charge you for it). Comcast already makes you pay separately for ESPN, so this is a big victory.

The sad part is you’re still likely paying for the Big Ten network anyway as fees continue to rise and cable companies continue to nickel and dime the average viewer.