ESPN, however, balked, causing Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany to begin exploring the creation of his own network.

By the following year, the network had reached its goal to attain carriage on the "extended basic" tiers of cable providers in all Big Ten markets.

[12] While no specifics were revealed, Fox increased its stake in the Big Ten Network to 51% in June 2010, acquiring majority control, using a provision in its contract with the conference.

The service was initially available to subscribers of Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, DirecTV and Dish Network.

The network streams dozens of games live on its website, giving Big Ten women's basketball the most exposure of any conference in the country.

The network maintains a set on-site during the Big Ten men's and women's basketball tournaments in Indianapolis, Indiana with anchors providing coverage and analysis of each day's game action during the event.

[27] The Big Ten Network televises more than 170 NCAA-sponsored Olympic events in both men's and women's sports such as hockey, soccer, volleyball, track and field, swimming and diving.

The event was held at PAX East in Boston, alongside the semi-finals and finals of Riot's own college championship.

[36] In September 2017, BTN revealed plans to televise selected games from the 2018 Big Ten men's basketball tournament in 4K.

BTN2Go was Big Ten Network's TV Everywhere service, which offers online streaming of BTN programming to subscribers on qualifying television providers.

[40][41] On many Saturdays during the football season, the Big Ten Network produces multiple games that air at the same time.

Since 2019, all Big Ten Network football games are also available via the Fox Sports app, regardless of geography and wireline restrictions.

Comcast, the largest cable provider in the U.S., reached a deal to carry the network on June 19, 2008,[42] and began adding the channel to its systems on August 15, 2008; other major providers in states with universities in the Big Ten Conference (including Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable) would soon follow suit.

[46][47] On August 25, Time Warner Cable and the Big Ten Network announced in a joint statement that the two parties had reached a carriage deal.

Time Warner Cable carries the channel on its expanded basic service in the eight states where Big Ten universities are located.

[51] Also on August 26, 2008, The Indianapolis Star reported that Bright House Networks was "very close to a deal" to carry the channel.

[59][60] On August 24, 2018, Comcast reached an agreement to renew its carriage of BTN, and stated that the channel would be reinstated on its sports and entertainment tier outside of the Big Ten's footprint.

[62][63][64] As a result, BTN began to black out event telecasts involving the Oregon Ducks, UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans, and Washington Huskies for Xfinity subscribers in the regions.

[62] The blackout ended on October 10, 2024, when Fox reached an agreement for in-market carriage of BTN on Comcast's basic tier in western markets.

[65] In September 2008, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved a request by Shaw Communications to allow carriage of BTN in Canada on its specialty television services.

While CTVglobemedia filed a concern that it would create undue competition (which is prohibited between foreign and domestic services) with its mainstream sports channel TSN, the CRTC determined that Big Ten Network's specific scope in coverage did not create undue competition with domestic mainstream sports services such as TSN.