Congressman Dingell is Now Fighting For Big Cable

Michigan Congressman John Dingell, D-Trenton, was recently known as the broker in the latest gun-banning legislation. As a former NRA Board member(who receives perpetual A+ ratings from NRA-ILA, even though GOA consistently provides much lower rankings), he brought anti-gun McCarthy together with the NRA to infringe upon gun owners rights.

Now he is out to protect Comcast, the cable television giant.

Why?

Because the Big Ten Network isn't giving Comcast a cheap price.

What may not be typical is the involvement of a congressman: Dingell sent Delany a letter Monday with questions about the network, primarily about the status of the negotiations, the prospective end date, the potential revenues and the full schedule of football games on the network, including a specific request about U-M games. The letter did not refer to Michigan State, only "the other 10 teams in the conference."

Michigan is expected to have three games on the Big Ten Network this season; two MSU games already have been scheduled, as well.

Now, first off, I must give credit where credit is due. Congressman Dingell only inquired about the University of Michigan broadcasts... he didn't waste anyone's time inquiring about those Spartans from Michigan State.

However, all joking aside, that does shoot down his explanation:"According to Dingell's staff, no hearings are scheduled. The congressman sent the letter on his individual letterhead on behalf of his constituents."

It seems to me that his constituents would include both Michigan and Michigan State alumni and fans. A lot of fans from both schools. So why not inquire about MSU's scheduled network games?

According to the article, "He [Congressman Dingell] is not raising the specter of hearings even though, as chairman of the energy and commerce committee that oversees telecommunications, it is within his power." Now, I know that U of Michigan football sells much better than State football - and State basketball brings in much more advertising revenue than U of M basketball. But Comcast simply needs to sign a contract for the football season by September 1... get football cheap now, and basketball will be cheap later. So I see what Comcast gets out of this. What I don't understand is what the average fan gets out of this - no more broadcasts of the best rivalries on free TV?

But you know what - the market can sort this mess out. So why is a powerful congressman getting involved? Is this a Federal issue? No.

But the Big Ten better watch out. Dingell is out for you. Maybe he'll get on the ball and force the conference to change it's name to the Big Eleven... isn't Big Ten false advertising?