Comcast, Big Ten duke it out over licensing fees

For the estimated 5.7-million Comcast subscribers residing in the Big Ten footprint, seeing your favorite games this coming Fall could end up costing you a bit more than expected. Apparently, the Big Ten conference and Comcast have yet to reach an agreement on carrying the Big Ten Network, as Comcast reportedly wants $1.10 per subscriber in order to host the content on a dedicated sports tier. The conference, however, suggests that watchful consumers shouldn't be forced to pay "undue costs" in order to watch local teams, and even points out that the Mountain West Sports Network is carried on Comcast's basic cable lineup in the Salt Lake City region. Of course, we all know there's more money to be made in the juggernaut that is the Big Ten, but if an agreement isn't reached by August 1st, the Big Ten Network "could go on the offensive and encourage millions of Big Ten alumni to switch to DirecTV."