“We want to carry these networks,” said Celestine Flynn, director of public affairs for Time Warner Cable in Milwaukee. “But we believe people who want to watch these games should be able to choose.”

Due to a continuing dispute between cable companies and sports networks, fans subscribing to cable are unable to watch certain high profile games on television- an issue that two state legislators are working to relieve.

Games such as Saturday’s Wisconsin-Ohio State match-up are carried exclusively by the Big Ten Network, and Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications do not carry these games because they have been unable to negotiate a deal with the network.

To help settle the dispute between the two, State Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, and State Rep. Kitty Rhoades, R-Hudson, are working on a bill that would provide an independent mediator, who would come up with solution that is best for everyone.

“They’re both profitable groups,” Hansen said. “They can come to some sort of middle ground or compromise, so we are going to push them in that direction.”

There is currently no final time line for the bill, but Hansen said they are working as quickly as possible to get it drafted so it can start circulating soon.

If the legislation went through in Wisconsin, it would be one of the first of its kind in the United States.

The state legislators have received some criticism about trying to take on such a big corporation, but Hansen argued that that is what everyone said about big tobacco too.

Time Warner Cable has put in several offers with both the Big Ten Network and NFL Network, but the networks have rejected them, said Celestine Flynn, director of public affairs for Time Warner Cable in Milwaukee.

“We want to carry these networks,” Flynn said. “But we believe people who want to watch these games should be able to choose.”

Flynn said that not everyone wants to watch these stations and, therefore, their rates should not increase to accommodate others.

On the other hand, Mike Vest, media relations for the Big Ten Network, said customers would not necessarily have to pay higher prices. Instead, the cable companies could offset the cost of carrying the games by providing local advertising, selling high definition packages or playing the game on Video on Demand channels after it is through.

The lack of negotiation between the companies does not make fans happy as they have to leave their houses to watch key games.

This past weekend Tom Dunne, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee sophomore and avid sports fan, had to leave his house to watch the Badgers play Ohio State because Time Warner Cable, which he subscribes to in Milwaukee, did not carry the game.

“It sucks for fans,” Dunne said.

Even people who live in Madison couldn’t watch certain Badger games unless they subscribed to AT&T, DirecTV, Dish Network or a similar provider.

Likewise, people will not be able to watch the Packers play the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 29 if they live outside the Milwaukee or Green Bay media markets, where the game will be provided.

“There is no reason, in my mind, that Wisconsin fans should not see the Wisconsin-Ohio State game or the Packer-Cowboy game in November,” Hansen said.

Wisconsin is not the only place with these problems.

Hansen said he recently received a call from Pennsylvania legislators, where they are in a similar predicament with the Big Ten Network and Penn State games.

Dunne said he is unhappy about cable not carrying certain games, but he isn’t sure whether an independent moderator is the answer.

He said he is concerned that the proposed bill will interfere with individual business rights to negotiate a fair price. “That’s government going against business,” Dunne said.

Hansen insists, though, that the proposal is in the state’s best interest. “If price is the issue, let’s compromise,” Hansen said.

There is currently no final timeline for the bill, but Hansen said they are working as quickly as possible to get it drafted so it can start circulating soon.

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