A disturbing trend is beginning.
I am an Ohio State fan.
Ohio State will be facing Indiana next Saturday. Although Indiana is likely to be blown out, I still want to watch the game. However, I can't.
This game will be aired on ESPN U, an ESPN subsidiary devoted to college sports.
This is an ultra-exclusive channel that virtually nobody gets. First of all, it is only available on the high price television services. And what if you can actually afford digital cable? YOU STILL DON'T GET ESPN U!
You can only watch the OSU/Indiana game if you have a dish service like Direct TV or Dish Netowrk, and that service will set you back hundreds of dollars a month! Or you can go to a BW3 or some other sports bar...never mind, the places are already packed.
And this is just the beginning.
Now we have a new network called the Big Ten Network coming. This will eliminate the ability of ESPN Plus (a network that carries games to local networks like ABC) to carry Big Ten games.
This will likely mean that more than half of the Big Ten games, including Ohio State, will disappear from the average TV. No new channels have been coming to basic cable since 2004 or earlier than that, and you know where Big Ten network will be.
Pretty soon, the other dividions will probably create their own digital channels, and eventually a day will come when Saturdays will be without any college football to watch whatsoever.