It's easy to mock from the outside, but the BTN is the gift that keeps on giving to Big Ten sports fans. I'm an Indiana grad and I have been able to watch each and every Indiana football and basketball game since the BTN started. In years prior to that, I would routinely miss a couple of IU football games that weren't televised as well as an occasional basketball game.
Sure there's plenty of crap on the network to full up the 24 hour schedule, but who cares, you're not obligated to tune in for that stuff. Bottom line is that you see all the games you want to see and the network makes a shit load of money for conference members. What's not to love?