DaytonDailyNews.com

When I first talked to Mark Silverman on May 30, the Big Ten Network president was friendly and optimistic. A month later when we talked, he was referring to national cable providers and their negotiating stances as "crazy" and "absurd."

As the summer progressed and the pressure increased for the BTN (which launches tonight) to make a deal with national providers, those negotiations became heated in a hurry. While Ohio State and Big Ten fans started to sweat their ability to see games on television — including the Buckeyes' first two — things turned ugly:

• Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany held a conference call with reporters on June 21 and demanded an apology from a Comcast executive who dared to suggest the programming on the BTN would be second-rate (which, after football- and men's basketball-related content, is absolutely right).

• Silverman and Delany started parading around to newspaper editorial boards all over the eight Big Ten states to promote the network. Delany once even compared the pair to "Thelma & Louise" once a flight was canceled and they had to drive from Iowa to Ohio.

• Fan message boards caught public-relations firms posing as posters and starting threads either bashing or praising the BTN.

• Even reporters couldn't agree during a July BTN reception if the network would succeed or fail. Consider this: In the Southwest Ohio Division of Time Warner Cable alone, the network is missing out on about $8.5 million per year without a deal in place. Time Warner said Wednesday that the BTN stands to make $237 million from cable customers in the eight Big Ten states if each operator purchased the network. Of that, $37 million would come from Ohio.

• Think the Big Ten has piles of money sitting around? According to tax records, the conference has spent a combined $1.3 million more than it has taken in the past two years. (Partner News Corp. has the real dough, with a $3.8 billion excess last year alone.)

Bottom line: Would I buy the Big Ten Network at a $1.10 monthly fee per subscriber and put it on expanded basic cable?

Absolutely not.

Game On?

Do you own a bar or restaurant that is showing Saturday's Ohio State-Youngstown State game (which is only available in the Dayton area on DirecTV)? If you would like your business included in a list that will be published this week, send e-mail to sports@DaytonDailyNews.com with this info: business, address, phone number. Include your name for verification purposes.