Dish Network, BTN remain at standstill over Maryland coverage

I just spoke with BTN President Mark Silverman, who expressed his dismay at the lack of progress between the channel and Dish Network in the state of Maryland.

BTN was able to reach deals for broad distribution with Comcast, FiOS and DirecTV, but has not been able to do so with Dish.  The satellite provider has deals with the Big Ten Network in every Big Ten state except for Maryland and New Jersey, Silverman said, as well as similar deals for the Pac-12 Network and SEC Network.

"They're continuing to carry the network as if there was no Maryland," he said.

Silverman did not seem optimistic about a deal being struck in the future.

"There's really no discussion with them," he said. "They've just kind of told us they're not going to do it."

With a big game for Maryland coming up this weekend against West Virginia, Silverman advised fans with Dish to look for other viewing options for the game.