Big Ten Network is finishing its countdown to launch anyway.
The network will debut from its Chicago-based studio at 8 tonight with a special edition of "Big Ten Tonight'' with hosts Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith. Promised by the network is a preview of the weekend's opening games, and a look at the coming season.
At 9 p.m., "The Big Ten's Greatest Games'' series will kick off with a rebroadcast of the 2006 Michigan-Ohio State game.
In its first year, the network plans to televise more than 400 live events, but the size of the audience will be smaller than executives had hoped. Satellite provider DirecTV and AT&T Cable are among those who have signed up as partners, but cable companies, in general, have been slow to embrace the network.
Among the holdouts as of Wednesday afternoon was Comcast, the dominant Michigan cable provider that has been publicly bickering with the Big Ten Network about rates and what service tier is appropriate for the network.
