re: Maryland approves move to Big TEN

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Whether anyone watches is irrelevant. Conferences used to chase eyeballs. They still do only now it doesn't matter if the eyeballs are even open. The genius of the Big Ten Network (or any cable channel like it) is it is essentially a Big Ten tax.

The passion of the Superfan, who actually may watch, forces providers to make every cable home in a state dole out maybe 50 or 75 cents a month to the conference, whether or not they know a football is inflated or stuffed.

Nearly every citizen is essentially taxed for living in a state with a Big Ten athletic department. Big programs like to boast they're self-sufficient and don't use public money that goes to the general university, but this is an end-around that accomplishes the same thing.

You don't pay on April 15 via the state. You pay every month via Comcast.

It's genius. It's absolutely fabulously genius. So genius the Pac 12 is now trying it, the SEC is going to try it and the University of Texas is trying it all by itself (with few buyers thus far, though).

It's genius unless home entertainment goes a la carte one day, but you won't see that concept in the revenue projections.

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