Armstrong and Time Warner still are negotiating with the Big Ten Network.
YOUNGSTOWN — With the arrival of intense August heat, a sports fan's thoughts turn to football.
And the most frequently asked question this summer is, "Will my cable-TV company be carrying the new Big Ten Network?"
The answer: Maybe.
Armstrong Cable services just about every community in Mahoning County except Youngstown (Time Warner).
Krista White, Armstrong spokeswoman, says Armstrong and the Big Ten Network "have been negotiating for some time" but a deal has not been reached.
An agreement is possible before the college football season begins on Labor Day weekend, but right now there is none.
The same is true for Time Warner, which also services a large portion of Trumbull County.
OSU-YSU game on TV
Two Ohio State football games will be televised by the Big Ten Network: the Youngstown State game on Sept. 1 at noon and the Akron game on Sept 8 at noon.
It's possible that the Northwestern game on Sept. 22 and Kent State game on Oct. 13 will be shown by the conference's channel that debuts sometime this month.
The NFL Network situation remains an embarrassment to the league.
Last year, the NFL retained the broadcast rights to late-season Thursday and Saturday games and assigned them to the NFL Network. (Analysts say the league could have sold the rights to an established channel — say TNT or ABC — for several hundred million dollars).
NFL Network demanded extra money from cable providers to show the regular-season games.
Across the nation, most cable-TV companies said no thanks, explaining that the games weren't worth incurring the wrath of subscribers because they would have to raise basic cable rates.
At present, nothing has changed.
Game at Canton on TV
Armstrong will show NFL Network's preseason games including today's Pro Football Hall of Fame Game from Canton between the Steelers and Saints.
For those without NFL Network, KDKA Channel 2 in Pittsburgh will simulcast the Steelers-Saints game at 8 p.m.
"We are still negotiating the opt-in seven-game package." White said of the regular-season games. "However, we still will show every game that NFL Network is broadcasting that is not part of that package.
"We will show all 51 preseason games as we have for the past two years, including the Steelers game [today]."
Most NFL Network preseason telecasts are shown on tape-delayed basis.