Market solution to cable dispute

Time Warner's agreement to carry the Big Ten Network comes with a lesson for Ohio lawmakers and those who take every grievance to lawmakers: The free market still works fine without government interference.

Time Warner cable and the Big Ten Network reached an agreement Monday night, bringing to a close a stalemate that had gone on since last football season. The agreement is good news for Ohio State fans, as Time Warner is the dominant cable company here and three of the first five Buckeyes games this season will be on the Big Ten Network. The Big Ten Conference formed the network last season, and it wanted cable operators to offer it as part of a basic tier subscription. Cable companies resisted, wanting to put it on a more expensive special sports tier.

Terms of Monday's agreement were not available.

The disagreement last season kept three Ohio State games off the tube for Time Warner customers. A few state lawmakers tried to intervene. State Rep. Lou Blessing, a Cincinnati-area Republican, introduced a bill that would have forced cable TV operators and programmers into arbitration if they couldn't reach compromise on certain programming. The Big Ten Network and the NFL Network - neither of which were on many cable networks - were at the heart of Blessing's bill, which gained 12 Republican and nine Democratic co-sponsors.

The rest of the General Assembly chose to punt on the issue, which was proper.

As we noted last November, market forces were capable of settling this dispute - if it was to be settled. Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith last week encouraged a market reaction, urging Buckeyes fans to drop Time Warner cable if it didn't offer the Big Ten Network.

Now, just in time for the season opener against Youngstown State, Ohio State fans who subscribe to Time Warner will have the Big Ten Network. The market works. And, best of all, those in state government had the right amount of involvement: none at all.