CHAMPAIGN - If you care about Big Ten sports, you have no choice but to care about the new Big Ten Network.

Like it or hate it, that's the way it is.

This is becoming more and more apparent as fans begin to realize just how many football and basketball games will be televised exclusively by the 24-hour-a-day network, which will launch Aug. 30, one day before Big Ten teams dive into the football season.

On Thursday, Mark Silverman, president of the Big Ten Network, and Jim Delany, commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, were in Champaign to beat the drum on behalf of the network.

The drum beating is necessary because the network remains at a standstill in distribution negotiations with five major cable and satellite providers, making millions of subscribers wonder if they'll have access to the programming or if they should consider switching to an on-board network partner like DirecTV.

I'll tell you what I plan to do, but first, Delany and Silverman did not paint an optimistic picture when it comes to negotiations with Comcast, the largest cable operator and the group that has a controlling interest in Insight Communications, which serves many Central Illinois customers.

"We remain in discussions with five major distributors," Delany said. "Some negotiations are pretty mature. Some are pretty immature, in particular those with Comcast. We're in the fourth quarter for our launch, but we're in the first quarter (in negotiations) with Comcast.

"We're totally committed to a broad-based distribution. They are insisting on a narrow sports tier distribution. That's not something we can concede to."

Just as it was two weeks ago, when these two men spoke at the Big Ten football media day, the sticking point remains placement of the network within the expanded basic package. That's what the Big Ten is pushing. Comcast, on the other hand, wants it placed on a sports tier for which it charges extra.

And while the Aug. 30 launch might be seen as a deadline, it's not THE deadline.

Truth is, there are several deadlines that could help the network turn up the heat on cable and satellite operators, and they will unfold one after another over the next few months. In fact, they are not really deadlines at all; they are occasions for the fan to feel the impact of having, or not having, access to the Big Ten Network.

One deadline is the start of football non-conference games on Sept. 1. That's when fans in Ohio, for example, will finally realize they can't see the opener against Youngstown State. The game will be available only on the Big Ten Network.

Think they don't care about the Youngstown State game in Columbus? Are you kidding? They'd care if Ohio State was playing Ted's Barber College.

The start of Big Ten Conference play in football is the next deadline. That's when fans will realize games like Penn State vs. Ohio State could land exclusively on the Big Ten Network. That's when Illini football fans will understand that a number of games will land on the network. That's the same Illini football team picked by Sports Illustrated this week to finish 7-5 and be bowl-bound.

It could take the start of basketball season to make the significance of the Big Ten Network register. It may take that long for fans here in Central Illinois to fully understand that two out of every three Illini men's basketball games will be televised only on the Big Ten Network. That's right: two-thirds.

Of course, Silverman and Delany hope deals are in place before then. But if Comcast is waiting for the Big Ten to budge off of its "expanded basic or nothing" stance, the stalemate will continue. The Big Ten Network will negotiate price, but it insists it will not negotiate what it calls "carriage," or placement within the expanded basic package of channels.

In the meantime, Delany stopped short of encouraging fans to make the switch to DirecTV. But he does hope fans will prod their operators with a phone call, letting them know they feel the Big Ten Network is important enough to be included in the expanded basic package, not something they wish to see placed on a sports tier for an added monthly fee.

They say the cost of losing a subscriber is about $6,000 to a cable or satellite operator. That's because people don't switch often, but when they do, it's for the long term. Years of cable bills add up.

If that's true, the Big Ten is banking on its loyal, passionate fans to begin switching as the presence of the network is felt. And it will be felt when fans realize they need the network to see the games.

I currently get Dish Network, and Silverman said those negotiations are proceeding better than those with Comcast. "I believe we can get a deal done with another major provider before Comcast," Silverman said.

So I'll wait another week or two, maybe a bit longer into the early part of the Big Ten football season. But if no deal is in place, I'm switching to DirecTV. For one thing, DirecTV is committed to including the Big Ten Network's overflow channels.

That means if four Big Ten football games begin at 11 a.m., as they will on Sept. 1, DirecTV will carry all four games at the same time, moving some to vacant channels. So I can decide which game is most important to me. Or switch back and forth, which drives my wife absolutely nuts.

Since I'm covering the Illini game each Saturday, the full value of the network won't hit home for me until basketball begins. That's when it becomes essential.

So if no deal is in place, I'll have made the switch long before hoops gets going in early November.

In the meantime, fans will make their own decisions. I just know that with member schools having made a 20-year commitment to the project, the Big Ten Network isn't going away.

It might be a slow and rocky start, and it might inconvenience some of us who feel compelled to switch providers, but the network is here to stay.

I've just got to find a way to get it.

And I will.

Mark Tupper can be reached at mtupper@herald-review.com or 421-7983.