• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, August 5, 2011

Fed up with escalating taxes and an onerous federal government, the good citizens of Texas have been talking secession. So, we ask that in their remaining weeks as part of the union, they launch a revolution against higher cable bills as a parting gift to us?

ESPN is set to launch the Longhorn Network focusing on sports at the University of Texas later this month. And so far, it appears as if no cable/satellite/telco TV operator has a deal to offer it.

Crazily enough, type in the University of Texas zip code 78712 on a site where ESPN urges fans to lobby their operators to launch Longhorn Network, and you find none listed in that Austin area are on board. Not Time Warner Cable, AT&T or even DirecTV, which seems willing to carry about any sports network.

Texans should ensure it stays that way. They should take on ESPN and Big Cable.

They should act as if the feds are secretly planning to kill their oil drilling and angrily call and write their pay-TV operators to encourage them not to carry Longhorn (which is a partnership between ESPN, UT and IMG).

For those rooting for Texas A&M or Texas Tech, this is easy. Do they want UT baseball and volleyball?

Taking the stand could be painful for UT devotees - the network is scheduled to carry exclusively the football team's opener next month -- but they need to suck it up and plan something else to do for a few hours during the Rice game Sept. 3. They can watch the highlights and Texas will win 55-10, so what's the drama?

And at least 10 more UT games, including the better ones, will be on TV all fall, so there will be plenty to enjoy. Come basketball season, not many men's games will be on the network anyway.

Sports Business Journal has reported ESPN wants 40 cents a month per subscriber from operators to carry Longhorn, which would place it in the top 30 or 40 most expensive cable channels.

Cable operators routinely say that the high costs for content cause them to raise customer bills. Doubters may have be on to something, but Texans should challenge operators to prove it.

They should effectively say we'll forgo Longhorn Network if you can demonstrate our bills won't go up because of it. Sure, that may only save them 40 cents a month, but put the operators on the hot seat.

Cable company Charter has endeavored to show customers how much broadcasters are charging it in carriage fees and how that impacts their bills and Texans should ask for the same.

Alas, no matter how much Texans remember the Alamo and fight, they will lose. Either by ESPN pulling triggers or enough fans just unable to miss Texas-Rice, Longhorn Network will find distribution, which would be just too bad.