In a world where content is king, probably nothing matches the audience appeal and leverage power of sports programming. Most people want to watch sports live (a boon to advertisers) and there are rabid fans at all levels, from high school athletics to professional-league games.

Witness the recent hullabaloo over the Big Ten Network (BTN). BTN has decided to launch this Thursday on AT&T’s U-verse service. Neatly left out of the launch party is cable giant Comcast. Comcast wants to stick BTN on its sports tier, while BTN has argued it should be placed on the extended basic service tier, which has a much larger audience. The companies are at an impasse, and BTN believes it can hold out because AT&T offers a nice alternative. In other words, Comcast isn’t the only game in town.

Of course for consumers the result is that a lot of people are going to miss out on Big Ten games. An editorial in the Chicago Tribune uses the issue to argue for a-la-carte pricing, but of course there are problems with that approach, as EngadgetHD covered recently. Still I hope somebody finds a reasonable solution for getting regional sports games, particularly out of market. Oh wait, isn’t there something called a Slingbox?

UPDATE: Comcast fights back with free on-demand coverage of Big Ten team Notre Dame.

In case you hadn’t heard, friend of the site Om Malik recently launched a weekly video show. And one of his very first guests is Sling Media co-founder and CEO Blake Krikorian. Now I’m not going to steal the big boss’s thunder (I work for Sling Media), but Blake’s always entertaining and forthcoming — this is well worth checking out! More thoughts on Blake as an approachable CEO from Sling alum JT over on LiveDigitally.

Emerging Media Dynamics has a report out claiming that 20% of broadband homes (roughly 12 million households) will have media extenders by the end of this year. Anybody else astounded by that number?

The report is including in this category devices like Apple TV, the Xbox 360 and Sling’s SlingCatcher. All of these products are brand new so it utterly shocks me that 12 million people will have them by the end of 2007. Wishful thinking?

Tony La Russa fan? Still don’t own a Slingbox? Want a second? No worries. Just fire up your digital camera or webcam and shoot a Slingbox-related video. If you’re lacking creativity and in need of guidance, we have some suggestions:

• Create an advertisement for Slingbox that illustrates why Slingbox is a great way to watch baseball or any sporting event when you’re away from home. Use your imagination and whatever tools you have (drawings, animation, puppets, video, bobble head dolls, etc.)
• Post a video of yourself singing the praises of the Slingbox as a baseball fan’s best friend. And yes, you should actually sing. It could be an original song, a song parody, or a “slingified” version of a popular tune.

The first 75 who post their video online will receive a Slingbox Classic signed by Tony La Russa. Check out the official guidelines and let us know where to find your video by sending an email to slingshots@echosports.com.

Consider this an ongoing thread. First, I was right in my snide comment about Wii availability. Second, I was wrong, or rather JP Morgan was wrong about an iPhone Nano. Third, there are already many things to add to the list including Slingcatcher (thanks, Dave), ultra-portable Mac (wishful thinking?) and TiVo Series 3 Lite.

Let’s revisit this in a month or so.

National Hockey Leauge:

“Having the most tech-savvy fans of all major professional sports, who also tend to be early adopters of new technology, makes offering NHL content through Clip+Sling a natural fit,� said Keith Ritter, President, NHL Interactive CyberEnterprises. “This partnership expands the visibility of our NHL games online and we are excited and proud to be the first sports league to offer this service to our fans.�

Major League Baseball:

“Of course, what they are doing is not legal,” said [MLB Advanced Media's General Counsel Michael] Mellis. “We and other leagues have formed a group to study the issue and plan our response. A lot depends on ongoing discussions. Plus, there’s no guarantee that Slingbox will be around next year. It’s a start-up.”

As you might imagine, I have some pretty strong opinions on this topic. However, I’m comfortable sitting back and observing how the league representatives above address their respective fanbases. It speaks for itself.

The TiVo Rewards loyalty program has lowered the “price” of the Series3 to 75,000 points. It was originally introduced as at 85,000 points. According to a quick scan of Amazon and Best Buy, the retail price of the Series3 remains $799… though Amazon has priced it under $610. Given these drops and rumor of a lower-cost HD TiVo, I wonder how (not) well the Series3 units are selling assuming all the early adopters and TiVo fanatics are onboard.

In other TiVo Rewards news, for the first time our Slingbox AV is being offered (at 25,000 points). I won’t be taking advantage of this reward now that I partake in the all-you-can-eat Slingbox plan (as a Sling Media employee), but those on the TCF who’ve requested/suggested this are in good shape today.

As far as other Reward suggestions, I think TiVo could make a killing by offering the discontinued Lifetime service option. It would be wins all around for TiVo: Motivate the most dedicated customers to “sell” more units, reward those most dedicated customers with exclusive service, and charge an outlandish Reward “fee” (125,000 pts?) to more than cover their expenses.

Last but not least, if you ever activate a TiVo and want to show ZNF a little love remember davezatz@yahoo.com referred you. Now that I’m traveling more often, I wouldn’t mind a set of those Bose QuietComfort (v3) headphones at 45,000 pts.

Mark Cuban, YouTube, TiVo, and Sling Media hit the Hill yesterday, chatting up the House Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee.

• Congress gets earful on net neutrality, CableCARD, YouTube: Ars Technica
• Congressman-Cam Debuts on YouTube: NewTeeVee
• Hill-icon Valley: Washington Post