Started By
Message
re: SEC Network, the thread
Posted on 4/12/14 at 10:33 pm to WhiskerBiscuitSlayer
Posted on 4/12/14 at 10:33 pm to WhiskerBiscuitSlayer
0
Posted on 4/12/14 at 10:39 pm to WhiskerBiscuitSlayer
Motherfricker 
Posted on 4/13/14 at 5:10 pm to tmc94
Posted on 4/13/14 at 7:43 pm to WhiskerBiscuitSlayer
Yes I would.
Posted on 4/14/14 at 9:58 am to tmc94
I have to make decision in a few weeks. I'm moving to an area that has Time Warner, Verison Fios or I could stay with Direct TV (tried Dish several years ago and hated it).
All have contracts and I will cancel any of the above if they do not carry the SEC Network. I am thinking I will go with Fios.
Good gamble or not?
All have contracts and I will cancel any of the above if they do not carry the SEC Network. I am thinking I will go with Fios.
Good gamble or not?
Posted on 4/14/14 at 10:04 am to agswin
thinks it's a good gamble. But as someone that has FIOS, I can tell you that you have the option of month-to-month (I do this now). It's cheaper to have a contract but it's only like $5/month
Posted on 4/14/14 at 10:09 am to tmc94
Thanks. Never thought about the month to month option.
I think it is called "can't see the forest for thr trees"
I think it is called "can't see the forest for thr trees"
Posted on 4/16/14 at 1:00 pm to EKG
Not unexpected but starting to see more of these trickle in. I don't think this had an option for SECN but I wasn't sure
same with this
quote:
@McMurphyESPN
Alabama-West Virginia in Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game from Atlanta set for 3:30 p.m. EDT Aug. 30 on ABC/ESPN2
same with this
quote:
@McMurphyESPN 8m
Aug. 30: Penn St.-UCF in Ireland 8:30 a.m. ET ESPN2; FSU-Okla. St. in Dallas 8 p.m. ET ABC; LSU-Wis. in Houston 9 p.m. ET ESPN
This post was edited on 4/16/14 at 1:34 pm
Posted on 4/18/14 at 2:52 pm to tmc94
Think most people thought this was going to happen and I even saw the other day that the LSU tv schedule page already showed it but it's officially official
quote:
@SECNetwork
BREAKING: @SECNetwork will broadcast the Arkansas vs. Auburn football game on August 30th!
Posted on 4/18/14 at 2:56 pm to tmc94
Wow, that is huge...
Posted on 4/18/14 at 3:07 pm to EKG
Yeah, it's a big one. I figured it would be either that or Clemson/UGA to headline Saturday's slate. Clem/UGA still doesn't have a tv slot yet but now I'm pretty sure it'll be the 11am game on ESPN
Just updating EKG's list
Just updating EKG's list
quote:
Thursday, August 28
Temple at Vanderbilt SECN
Texas A&M at South Carolina SECN
Boise State vs Ole Miss (ATL) ESPN
Saturday, August 30
West Virginia vs Alabama (ATL) ABC / ESPN2
Arkansas at Auburn SECN
Wisconsin vs LSU (HOU) ESPN
Southern Mississippi at Mississippi State
Idaho at Florida
Clemson at Georgia
UT-Martin at Kentucky
South Dakota State at Missouri
Sunday, August 31
Utah State at Tennessee SECN
Posted on 4/18/14 at 3:35 pm to tmc94
In one weekend the SEC Network will have more relevant games than the entire time the LHN has been in existence.
ESPN learned its lesson and is bringing the content this time.
ESPN learned its lesson and is bringing the content this time.
Posted on 4/18/14 at 5:36 pm to cardboardboxer
I don't honestly think ESPN ever thought LHN was a winner. It was a means to an end and any comparison to the SECN is not very apt. It was simply the price of keeping a full scale bid war at bay a few more years.
I don't think people realize how under market all of the CFB contracts are. Everybody is under market as the dynamics to tv content has changed drastically in the last few years. The conference networks are landgrabs because right now, looking into the future, it appears he who controls live content will be king.
LHN successfully locked down the Big 12 and also kept them out of the network business. I don't think people quite realize the long-term implications to the Big 12 but I honestly think it's pretty dire.
ESPN just paid $1.9 annually for 16 MNF telecasts that get an average rating of about 8. CBS on SEC is also 16 games and about 4.5 rating. It's absurd how much money is being left on the table. When the SEC and B1G begin getting paid at FMV, which is what the networks are about, the Big 12 and ACC being on lockdown is going to sink them. .
I don't think people realize how under market all of the CFB contracts are. Everybody is under market as the dynamics to tv content has changed drastically in the last few years. The conference networks are landgrabs because right now, looking into the future, it appears he who controls live content will be king.
LHN successfully locked down the Big 12 and also kept them out of the network business. I don't think people quite realize the long-term implications to the Big 12 but I honestly think it's pretty dire.
ESPN just paid $1.9 annually for 16 MNF telecasts that get an average rating of about 8. CBS on SEC is also 16 games and about 4.5 rating. It's absurd how much money is being left on the table. When the SEC and B1G begin getting paid at FMV, which is what the networks are about, the Big 12 and ACC being on lockdown is going to sink them. .
Posted on 4/18/14 at 8:36 pm to tmc94
quote:
I don't honestly think ESPN ever thought LHN was a winner. It was a means to an end and any comparison to the SECN is not very apt. It was simply the price of keeping a full scale bid war at bay a few more years.
Yea, looking back it seems pretty clear it was really just a way to cock-block the Big 12 from creating its own network.
Posted on 4/19/14 at 11:18 am to tmc94
quote:
I don't honestly think ESPN ever thought LHN was a winner. It was a means to an end and any comparison to the SECN is not very apt. It was simply the price of keeping a full scale bid war at bay a few more years.
For once I disagree with that analysis 100% tmc.
I DO think that the original LHN was thought to be a winner. In its original form, the form where the network could host high-school games and the state championship game, would have had greater appeal.
I also think ESPN was sold a line from sips that lower programs like Tech (and hell maybe even us one day) would eventually fall in line and agree to play on the network.
The LHN was an ambitious plan to make a "Texas" (as in the state) network. It only failed because the ESPN executives missed two things:
1. The fact that having high-school games on the network would be ok. Again I am sure sip leaders assured them it would be ok, only for us to take it to the NCAA and strike it down year 1.
2. The fact that programs like Tech have more pride than they thought. They were right they could get some level of teams playing on there (ala Texas St. and UTSA), but it is obvious they assumed the level of Tech, Baylor, TCU would play ball as well. When Tech showed some backbone it became apparent that Texas didn't rule the state like they told their buddies at ESPN.
I think the reason it continues to exist is due to the fact that without it there would be major conference realignment where ESPN might lost important properties to the Fox controlled B1G or the split-controlled PAC.
But I don't think the grand plan was for it to be a stop-gap from the beginning. The grand plan was that they could turn the LHN into something any football fan in Texas would want to watch.
And maybe they could have had that if we would have gone along with it.
This post was edited on 4/19/14 at 11:20 am
Posted on 4/19/14 at 1:07 pm to cardboardboxer
I don't think us "going along with it" really made much difference. I think all those things ESPN knew full well weren't going to happen (for instance, tu only owns 1 OOC game per year per Big 12 contract so things like Tech appearing are irrelevant). You're assuming ESPN was the naive party here. Simply not buying that.
Looking back a few things are very clear:
- LHN was being worked on prior to conference realignment. ESPN however didn't enter the picture until conference realignment went in motion
- ESPN carriage rates have skyrocketed. They are up 50% in the last 3 years and project another 50% growth over the next 3. That has a lot to do with how valuable live content is. This is why ESPN is willing to pay $100m+ per MNF telecast and $80m for the Rose and Sugar (both are long-term contracts)
- this inflation means that long-term contracts signed prior to it are woefully undervalued.
- had the Big 12 imploded, Texas and OU likely would have ended up in the PAC (or B1G) and ESPN would lose those properties altogether (and a grossly undervalued T1 contract)
- wholesale realignment may have also opened Pandora's box since most of the contracts have look-in provisions. The look-ins really are designed to mark-to-market. However, if everyone is making say, $20m, then the market is $20m. But if a top conference, like the PAC or B1G was able to go to open market with an upgraded product, the market might have exploded to $30m. Then how can you tell the SEC (or whomever) that has a look-in provision that they are at market? You can't. The reduced revenue would be enormous (SEC would be $140m/year).
- The long-term biggest threat to ESPN isn't Fox or NBC or CBS. It's league branded channels that actually own the content. NFLN. MLBN. NHLN. BTN and PACN are rivals and common sentiment seems to be both conferences will stop their partnership with ESPN in the next contract cycle. It's absolutely vital that they keep top properties away from both conferences (and keep other conferences from entering that business without them)
You can take all these facts and say ESPN decided to overpay market by leaps and bounds and just got lucky with how it turned out. But I just don't think so. I'm not saying they planned it to lose money. But so what if it did?
ESPN locked in their T1 Big 12 deal under market (how much is tu-OU worth alone?), kept the overall CFB market status quo with long-term contracts in place, and prevented a potential rival entity for 20-years. $15m/year is chump change for that. But they aren't even out that full amount as it does generate some revenue to offset costs.
Looking back a few things are very clear:
- LHN was being worked on prior to conference realignment. ESPN however didn't enter the picture until conference realignment went in motion
- ESPN carriage rates have skyrocketed. They are up 50% in the last 3 years and project another 50% growth over the next 3. That has a lot to do with how valuable live content is. This is why ESPN is willing to pay $100m+ per MNF telecast and $80m for the Rose and Sugar (both are long-term contracts)
- this inflation means that long-term contracts signed prior to it are woefully undervalued.
- had the Big 12 imploded, Texas and OU likely would have ended up in the PAC (or B1G) and ESPN would lose those properties altogether (and a grossly undervalued T1 contract)
- wholesale realignment may have also opened Pandora's box since most of the contracts have look-in provisions. The look-ins really are designed to mark-to-market. However, if everyone is making say, $20m, then the market is $20m. But if a top conference, like the PAC or B1G was able to go to open market with an upgraded product, the market might have exploded to $30m. Then how can you tell the SEC (or whomever) that has a look-in provision that they are at market? You can't. The reduced revenue would be enormous (SEC would be $140m/year).
- The long-term biggest threat to ESPN isn't Fox or NBC or CBS. It's league branded channels that actually own the content. NFLN. MLBN. NHLN. BTN and PACN are rivals and common sentiment seems to be both conferences will stop their partnership with ESPN in the next contract cycle. It's absolutely vital that they keep top properties away from both conferences (and keep other conferences from entering that business without them)
You can take all these facts and say ESPN decided to overpay market by leaps and bounds and just got lucky with how it turned out. But I just don't think so. I'm not saying they planned it to lose money. But so what if it did?
ESPN locked in their T1 Big 12 deal under market (how much is tu-OU worth alone?), kept the overall CFB market status quo with long-term contracts in place, and prevented a potential rival entity for 20-years. $15m/year is chump change for that. But they aren't even out that full amount as it does generate some revenue to offset costs.
Posted on 4/19/14 at 1:15 pm to tmc94
The long-term outlook for SECN is pretty different for ESPN. No details have been released but almost certainly the profits will be shared. The SEC is a partner then, not a rival.
When the CBS contract expires, ABC/ESPN almost certainly will grab the SEC T1 contract. Then you own everything. You can put things on whichever channel you want. This is probably what Fox/B1G are about to do as well when their contract is up next year. The contracts will probably be absorbed into an overall profit share rather than individual contracts.
When the CBS contract expires, ABC/ESPN almost certainly will grab the SEC T1 contract. Then you own everything. You can put things on whichever channel you want. This is probably what Fox/B1G are about to do as well when their contract is up next year. The contracts will probably be absorbed into an overall profit share rather than individual contracts.
Posted on 4/19/14 at 2:54 pm to tmc94
Watching the Alabama spring game and I've got to say I was quite impressed with McElroy. He sounded polished and had good things to say.
Posted on 4/19/14 at 4:39 pm to tmc94
That all seems very Keyser Söze of ESPN. I would believe the real answer is 50-50.
I don't think they saw the LHN pushing us to the SEC or the expansion of that league. They were really proud to keep the SEC away from a network with that 2009 deal.
I think the ESPN did come in back in 2010 with larger figures than originally considered to slow down realignment. I don't know if the LHN was meant to stabilize the Big 12 as much as ensure ESPN had control of one of the largest chess pieces on the board.
With the new SEC Network I think the realized they can't keep the SEC from having one (its a vanity thing now) so why not own it?
I don't think they saw the LHN pushing us to the SEC or the expansion of that league. They were really proud to keep the SEC away from a network with that 2009 deal.
I think the ESPN did come in back in 2010 with larger figures than originally considered to slow down realignment. I don't know if the LHN was meant to stabilize the Big 12 as much as ensure ESPN had control of one of the largest chess pieces on the board.
With the new SEC Network I think the realized they can't keep the SEC from having one (its a vanity thing now) so why not own it?
Posted on 4/19/14 at 5:51 pm to cardboardboxer
the SECN was agreed to in principle before we ever talked to Slive. Us going to the SEC was not part of ESPN's grand scheme. ESPN would have been perfectly happy if everyone stayed put.
As long as the sips are in the Big 12 for the life of that tier 1 contract and the Big 12 creates no network, their plan is a success. Our move is no more than a by-product of it all and probably fortuitous for them (though I think they had input) that we ended up in their league.
As long as the sips are in the Big 12 for the life of that tier 1 contract and the Big 12 creates no network, their plan is a success. Our move is no more than a by-product of it all and probably fortuitous for them (though I think they had input) that we ended up in their league.
Page 4 of 18
Latest Texas A&M News
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News