As football season starts, another battle between a sports net and cable distributors is getting heated. Fox Cable Networks wants broad analog carriage and high fees for its new regional sports channel, the Big Ten Network, and is running ads encouraging consumers to switch to DirecTV, which is carrying the net. Cox Communications and other cable companies are negotiating with the network for distribution on cable systems within or adjacent to Big Ten territories, but want to distribute it on digital sports tiers, so that only those customers who are interested in the programming will have to pay extra for it. In a letter to customers last week, Comcast declared: “The Big Ten and Fox see huge revenue opportunities in creating their own network and want to charge Comcast customers hundreds of millions of dollars to watch it on expanded basic. We believe that our offer to carry Fox's BTN on a sports tier best protects the interests of all of our customers, including Big Ten fans.” Comcast directed customers to a new site, www.puttingfansfirst.com, that breaks down the issue in detail and encourages them to take action.