EchoStar Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:DISH) and its DISH Network(r) satellite TV service today announced the latest Big Ten college football broadcast schedules are now available, which will be updated regularly. DISH Network will carry almost all of the Big Ten and other NCAA conference football and basketball games currently scheduled on CSTV, CBS and NBC, as well as ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.

There are a few Big Ten non-conference games (e.g. Citadel vs. Wisconsin) that air on the Big Ten Network (BTN). For several months, DISH Network has been diligently negotiating with BTN to obtain a carriage agreement consistent with other regional sports networks, but BTN wants unreasonable and inconsistent payments from all of our customers regardless of whether or not they are Big Ten fans. The good news is that DISH Network customers who are Big Ten fans will get most of their games with the current channels available on DISH Network.

DISH Network realizes how important these games are to our customers (we're fans too!), and will continue to work to provide the best in college and all sports, at the best value anywhere. In the meantime, we are keeping the door open in the hopes we can conclude a reasonable deal with BTN.