[August 12, 2011] Network difficulties at the Longhorn Network Tweet Aug 12, 2011 (The Dallas Morning News - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX) -- As launch date nears, Longhorn Network is still looking for carrier If a television network launches and no one can watch it, does it make a sound? That's the philosophical question of the day. The Longhorn Network is scheduled to launch in less than two weeks, and not a single cable, satellite or telecom carrier in the state has signed on. Can LHN launch as scheduled on Aug. 26 if no one can watch it? Let's begin by saying it is likely that some carrier will add the network to its buffet menu of offerings before launch. Two weeks is an eternity in the game of chicken that ESPN and the University of Texas are playing with the likes of Time Warner Cable, DirecTV and AT&T. Carriage deals are often struck just before midnight. Both sides like to haggle to the last moment over who will make how much from the subscriber fees that will be added to your bill when LHN is launched and placed on the same tier as the likes of ESPN, Fox Sports Southwest and CNN. (Personal aside: I would love to eavesdrop on the conversation when a Texas A&M fan calls their carrier to ask about the extra 40 or 50 cents a month on his bill and is told it's for LHN.) But I'll say this: Some carrier somewhere in the great state of Texas should have signed up by now. But no one has stepped forward. I checked with ESPN on Friday just to make sure the self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader wasn't holding back on a carriage announcement. Of course, it isn't. Instead a spokesperson offered up the network mantra: "We are still in active discussions." What is unusual here is that ESPN, LHN and Texas haven't made a single deal with say DirecTV or Dish or AT&T or Verizon Fios that it could try to leverage against the cable companies, as well as its satellite or telecom rivals. I can see it now. DirecTV signs on for LHN while Dish doesn't and starts marketing itself as the place for Aggies, Texas Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State fans. There's no question that Time Warner is the big dog that LHN needs in the state. That is the same Time Warner that is the lone holdout that has yet to make a deal with NFL Network. Time Warner is the No. 1 carrier in Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin. Comcast is No. 1 in Houston, where Time Warner isn't a player. Maybe ESPN and Texas will have to bring the carriers on board as partners, much the same as MLB Network did to assure its wide distribution. I'm sure ESPN and Texas considered the uniqueness of their situation before deciding to launch. They bet they would make their deals with the carriers. They probably will. Someday. But right now, they have to be holding their breath. Around the Horn This finally may be the season that NFL Network strikes a deal with Time Warner Cable, the last major cable carrier not to offer the network to subscribers. Charter, which like Time Warner also has Dallas-Fort Worth customers and is the nation's fourth-largest carrier, is the latest to pick up NFL Network. ... ESPN's College GameDay debuts this season at the Oregon-LSU game inside Cowboys Stadium on Sept. 3. ... If you are keeping score at home, Emily Jones delivered Henry Jones McCoy in the wee hours of July 31. On deck: Gina Miller. ... The cable network once known as Outdoor Life Network, then OLN, then Versus in January, will be rebranded NBC Sports Network. This week, it added MLS games to its NHL coverage. ... ESPN has added Jerry Rice to its army of NFL analysts. Also new this year will be ex-players Hugh Douglas and Damien Woody, as well as former coach Eric Mangini. And back on the payroll for the season is Bill Parcells. ___ (c) 2011, The Dallas Morning News. Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at http://www.dallasnews.com/. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]