****The Official NEW new new conference realignment & shit talk thread****

[Saul Good]

Let's do it.

[Bambi]

Or

[WilliamTheIrish]

Those two structures are so similar, it's like I've been transported to the set of "Willow".

[Mr_Tomahawk]

@Chumpstring: A group of meth labs is called a "Missouri."

[TribalElder]

Originally Posted by Bambi

Or

[tredadda]

Originally Posted by Bambi

Most of the college football discussed in this thread and on this board is of the mediocre variety. Missouri Football is no different.

Didn't Missouri finish in the Top 5 in the final rankings last year after beating one of the best the Big 12 had to offer last year? Good try, yet again you fail.

[WhawhaWhat]

So LA flooded yesterday after water-main breaks and Pauley Pavilion was underwater. Nothing really to do with conference realignment but it's college sports nonetheless.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Charter finalizing deal to carry SEC Network

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...able/13362605/

College football fans in much of the state of Alabama will not miss out on any of the upcoming SEC football season as Charter Communications, a major telecommunications provider in the state, is finalizing a deal with ESPN to carry the SEC Network in time for its launch.

"We have an agreement that we are currently finalizing with ESPN and we will have the SEC Network for its Aug. 14 launch," a Charter Communications spokesman said.

Charter is a major provider in the state of Alabama, including the Montgomery and Birmingham markets. Birmingham has been the top television market for college football for 13 straight years, drawing an averaged 9.2 rating, the highest ever for the market, this past year.

The SEC Network will televise 45 football games and more than 100 men's basketball games, 60 women's basketball games and 75 baseball games in its first year. Live events from the SEC's non-revenue sports will also be televised and streamed digitally.

Other programming will include the weekly SEC Nation traveling pregame show, which will be hosted by Joe Territore. SEC Nation will debut from Columbia, S.C., on Aug. 28 when the Gamecocks host Texas A&M as part of a doubleheader on the network, with Vanderbilt hosting Temple in the nightcap, before traveling to Auburn for the opening Saturday telecast of the season.

The Paul Finebaum Show, one of the most listened to radio programs in the SEC, will be simulcast on weekday afternoons.

SEC Storied will be a film series dedicated to SEC institutions and their pasts. Bo, Barkley and the Big Hurt, a film documenting the short time when Bo Jackson, Charles Barkley and Frank Thomas were all at Auburn, will air Aug. 21.

The addition of Charter, which has more than 5.7 million customers in 29 states, brings the SEC Network's distribution up to approximately 65.7 million households. ESPN has targeted the 80-90 million range for distribution for the new network.

Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks signed on to carry the SEC Network last week and deals are also in place with Comcast, Dish Network, Cox Media and AT&T U-Verse.

DirecTV remains the major provider yet to reach a deal to this point, though the company told FoxSports.com it is "quite hopeful" a deal will be in place soon.

According to Sports Business Daily, distributors are paying $1.40 per subscriber per month for the channel within the SEC's 11-state footprint and $0.25 per month outside of it. The channel will be on expanded basic tiers within SEC territory and digital basic outside of it.

That level of pricing means the SEC Network, the product of a 20-year agreement between ESPN and the SEC, could generate as much as the Big Ten Network and Pac-12 Network combined.

James Crepea writes for The Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser

[Eleazar]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

The addition of Charter, which has more than 5.7 million customers in 29 states, brings the SEC Network's distribution up to approximately 65.7 million households. ESPN has targeted the 80-90 million range for distribution for the new network.

Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks signed on to carry the SEC Network last week and deals are also in place with Comcast, Dish Network, Cox Media and AT&T U-Verse.

DirecTV remains the major provider yet to reach a deal to this point, though the company told FoxSports.com it is "quite hopeful" a deal will be in place soon.

According to Sports Business Daily, distributors are paying $1.40 per subscriber per month for the channel within the SEC's 11-state footprint and $0.25 per month outside of it. The channel will be on expanded basic tiers within SEC territory and digital basic outside of it.

That level of pricing means the SEC Network, the product of a 20-year agreement between ESPN and the SEC, could generate as much as the Big Ten Network and Pac-12 Network combined.

What a colossal failure the SEC Network is turning out to be!

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by Cochise

What a colossal failure the SEC Network is turning out to be!

Anyone that thought Slive wouldn't knock this out of the park is/was crazy.

[Bambi]

Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat

So LA flooded yesterday after water-main breaks and Pauley Pavilion was underwater. Nothing really to do with conference realignment but it's college sports nonetheless.

That's some crazy shit.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Charter finalizing deal to carry SEC Network

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...able/13362605/

College football fans in much of the state of Alabama will not miss out on any of the upcoming SEC football season as Charter Communications, a major telecommunications provider in the state, is finalizing a deal with ESPN to carry the SEC Network in time for its launch.

"We have an agreement that we are currently finalizing with ESPN and we will have the SEC Network for its Aug. 14 launch," a Charter Communications spokesman said.

Charter is a major provider in the state of Alabama, including the Montgomery and Birmingham markets. Birmingham has been the top television market for college football for 13 straight years, drawing an averaged 9.2 rating, the highest ever for the market, this past year.

The SEC Network will televise 45 football games and more than 100 men's basketball games, 60 women's basketball games and 75 baseball games in its first year. Live events from the SEC's non-revenue sports will also be televised and streamed digitally.

Other programming will include the weekly SEC Nation traveling pregame show, which will be hosted by Joe Territore. SEC Nation will debut from Columbia, S.C., on Aug. 28 when the Gamecocks host Texas A&M as part of a doubleheader on the network, with Vanderbilt hosting Temple in the nightcap, before traveling to Auburn for the opening Saturday telecast of the season.

The Paul Finebaum Show, one of the most listened to radio programs in the SEC, will be simulcast on weekday afternoons.

SEC Storied will be a film series dedicated to SEC institutions and their pasts. Bo, Barkley and the Big Hurt, a film documenting the short time when Bo Jackson, Charles Barkley and Frank Thomas were all at Auburn, will air Aug. 21.

The addition of Charter, which has more than 5.7 million customers in 29 states, brings the SEC Network's distribution up to approximately 65.7 million households. ESPN has targeted the 80-90 million range for distribution for the new network.

Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks signed on to carry the SEC Network last week and deals are also in place with Comcast, Dish Network, Cox Media and AT&T U-Verse.

DirecTV remains the major provider yet to reach a deal to this point, though the company told FoxSports.com it is "quite hopeful" a deal will be in place soon.

According to Sports Business Daily, distributors are paying $1.40 per subscriber per month for the channel within the SEC's 11-state footprint and $0.25 per month outside of it. The channel will be on expanded basic tiers within SEC territory and digital basic outside of it.

That level of pricing means the SEC Network, the product of a 20-year agreement between ESPN and the SEC, could generate as much as the Big Ten Network and Pac-12 Network combined.

James Crepea writes for The Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser

That means St. Louis gets the SEC Network.

[Prison Bitch]

I haven't been following this HUGE sports story (snicker) about the SEC Network but it appears the deal will generate $1B/yr. That's pretty impressive. Half will go to ESPN as the producer so that's $0.5B/yr to the schools. The SEC has an extra share taken out for the league office. So $0.5B divided 15 ways = $33.3M each.
http://mobile.texags.com/Forums/5/Topics/2483455



KU is at $30M with Fox + Tier III. Seems pretty equivalent.

[KChiefs1]

PROGRAMMING:

SEC Network Has Momentum: Connolly

Service's Leader Discusses Distribution, Outlines Programming Playbook

7/30/2014 8:15 PM Eastern
By: Mike Reynolds



Justin Connolly believes he has momentum – not to mention Ole Miss and supporters of the conference’s other 13 schools – on the distribution and programming side of the ball ahead of the SEC Network’s upcoming debut.

ESPN senior vice president of college networks is gearing up as the SEC Network -- ESPN's venture with the Southeastern Conference -- moves closer to its Aug. 14 kickoff. Over its freshman season, the network will televise 450 events and present another 550 digital-exclusive live conference contests on SECNetwork.com and WatchESPN.

“We have some real momentum as we move closer to launch. Things are really starting to heat up,” said Connolly during a recent phone interview from the service’s offices in Charlotte.

It’s true. ESPN last week inked a carriage contract for the SEC Network with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, which benefits from distribution negotiations from the nation’s No. 2 cable operator. Add top distributor Comcast, which has a presence in all 11 of the states home to the 14-school conference and earlier deals with Cox, Dish Network, charter affiliate AT&T U-verse, plus others, and SEC Network has commitments to launch in 60 million households in the footprint and throughout the country.

And counting.

“We’re coming into this with significant distribution at this stage. We have the top three cable operators and leading satellite and telco distributors and are in conversations with everybody else,” said Connolly. “I’m confident we’re going to get more deals done, but until things are actually signed, a contract is just a piece of paper.”

Connolly, who moved his family to Charlotte and has made trips to all 14 SEC campuses, said conference fans, students and alumni are pumped. “Everywhere I go, people say, ‘You have to get a deal with…’ ‘Is that your provider?’ I ask. ‘That’s my provider.’ "

At this point, Connolly and the SEC Network’s targets remain DBS leader DirecTV, telco Verizon FiOS, which has a presence in SEC states Florida and Texas, and Charter, which operates in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Officials at DirecTV, Verizon and Charter all indicated that their companies continue to negotiate with ESPN for the SEC Network.

SEC Network also has yet to strike a master agreement with the National Cable Television Cooperative, many of whose members operate in the 11 SEC states.

Connolly and ESPN officials would not discuss the SEC Network's rate card. Published reports suggest that the channel is fetching a $1.40 monthly subscriber fee within the conference footprint and a quarter everywhere else.

Echoing ESPN president John Skipper's goal of attaining similar levels of carriage as broader collegiate service, ESPNU, Connolly said the SEC Network’s affiliate goals are aimed toward “the benchmark” of having the top level of penetration within the conference footprint and the second-level out of market.

“We seem to be getting that mix,” he said, while noting that there is a difference in “the carriage we have in Alabama, than in Oregon.”

Those receiving the network will witness a three-hour wraparound welcome party, starting at 5 p.m. (CT) on Aug. 14. Programming will emanate from Charlotte with cutaways to campus locations. Network talent from Brent Musburger and Tim Tebow to Greg McElroy and Paul Finebaum, and many others, will provide updates on conference happenings and what subscribers can expect to see.

“We want to give viewers a flavor for what the network will be about, and for those who don’t know, show them some of the reasons why the SEC is different,” said Connolly.

The network’s early days will also see previews of each of the teams from the nation’s preeminent collegiate pigskin circuit, and encores of 67 classic games from its past.

Connolly said the worldwide leader will also ramp up production on more SEC Storied documentaries, from the creators of the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning “30 for 30” franchise.

Four films are currently in the can, covering the iconic trio of Charles Barkley, Bo Jackson and Frank Thomas at Auburn University in the 1980s; South Carolina head football coach Steve Spurrier and his long history with the conference; the tragic story of Ole Miss defensive back Chucky Mullins and Vanderbilt running back Brad Gaines; and the devotion of 14 famous SEC fans.

The latter, The Stars Are Aligned, will air on premiere night at 9 p.m., as director Andy Billman shines the spotlight on such notables as Ashley Judd , Darius Rucker, James Carville and Governor Rick Perry as they profess their devotions to the SEC and their schools.

The output game plan, according to Connolly, calls for 10 SEC Storied entries annually. They will vary in length from 90-, 60- and 30-minutes, with some launching on ESPNU and others on SEC Network.

The network will also feature SEC Now, its version of SportsCenter five days a week, and SEC Nation, a two-hour version of GameDay, that will be making dedicated conference campus stops and setting the stage for football action.

“It’s hard to get away from the shadow of the great programming on ESPN,” explained Connolly.

Before the football season begins on Aug. 28 with Texas A&M Aggies visiting Spurrier’s Gamecocks in Columbia, South Carolina, subscribers can get an early read on Kentucky’s men’s basketball team. The 2014 NCAA Division I national runner up will engage in the Big Blue Bahamas tour, with contests scheduled against the Dominican Republic national team, the Puerto Rico national team reserves and French first-division club team Champagne Chalons-Reims Basket from Aug. 15-17, as part of a larger competition against those squads.

With its 45-game football slate, SEC Network will feature all of the conference’s squads during the first four weeks of the season. Each of the first two weeks features six games, before the network settles into tripleheader mode.

Connolly explained that the network will be home to top-level action. While SEC broadcast partner CBS gets first crack at the weekly schedule under the rights structure, “ESPN controls the rest of the inventory,” said Connolly. As such, matchups will be designated for exposure on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and SEC Network over the course of the campaign.

SEC Network also plans to give viewers a chance to relive the glory of the past weekend, or lament what might have been with enhanced, film room recaps.

“We’re looking to get the coaches to break down some points of the games,” said Connolly.


TAGS:
SEC Network ESPN affiliate fees distribution Justin Connolly

[WilliamTheIrish]

That pic of Pauley Pavilion looks like an average spring runoff through the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, IA

[KChiefs1]

The SEC Network will be a tremendous success at launch, being available in right at 75 million homes. That will equal ESPN and the SEC's stated goal for a nationally distributed channel. It will also make the SEC Network the most successful sports television launch in cable and satellite TV history.

While DirecTV hasn't yet officially announced that it will carry the network, they reached out to Outkick two weeks ago to let everyone know that they planned to carry the channel. Already there have been official announcements from Dish Network, AT&T Uverse, Comcast, Time Warner, GoogleFiber, and Cox.

The only real drama will come in whether DirecTV has it at the official launch or it takes a couple of weeks after launch. Regardless, it's a very good bet that DirecTV will have the SEC Network rolled out by August 28th for the first games.

Ultimately, rest easy SEC fans, every single cable and satellite operator in the South will carry the SEC Network.

That's a testament to two things: 1. SEC fan demand for the channel was extraordinary and 2. ESPN and the SEC executed a flawless roll out strategy that took advantage of that fan demand and translated it into tangible results.

The SEC Network's launch literally could not have gone any better. Now that the network's national distribution is assured -- no small feat considering that still hasn't happened with the Big Ten and Pac 12 Network -- the revenue that the SEC Network will produce is extraordinary.

Last week I wrote about the size of the SEC Network in relation to other sports media channel.

At launch the SEC Network will be the fifth largest sports channel in the country.

1. ESPN: 97 million households $7 billion
2. NFL Network: 72 million households $1.05 billion
3. ESPN2: 97 million households $861.4 million
4. FS1: 88 million households $718.8 million
5. SEC Network: 75 million households $611 million*
6. NBC Sports Network: 80 million households $259.2 million
7. Pac 12 Network: 26 million households $249.6 million
8. Big Ten Network: 52 million households $237.1 million
9. ESPN News: 75 million households $207 million
10. NBATV: 60 million households $194.4 million
11. ESPNU: 75 million households $189 million
12. CBS Sports Network: 53 million households $159 million
13. ESPN Classic: 31 million households $78.1 million

*The SEC's revenue is based on a $1.40 per subscriber average monthly cost in the 28 million cable and satellite subscriptions in the 11 state SEC footprint and .25 cents per month in the remaining 47 million households.

Last week I told you that I would break down what these revenue streams would look like for individual SEC schools.

So let's do that now.

This past year the SEC distributed $20.7 million to each school. That's TV money from ESPN and CBS under the league's existing TV contracts. That money will continue to grow going forward, but it be a more measured growth, around a million or two a year. The rapid growth in TV money will come from the SEC Network.

So what will the SEC Network money look like?

Well, let's start with a couple of caveats:

1. There will be costs associated with running a network. The Pac 12 Network cost around $100 million to run. So we'll have to pull those costs out of the revenue.

2. Costs to buy-out local media contracts have to be factored in over the first couple of years. So I'm not going to project first or second year SEC Network revenue, I'm going to focus on third year and beyond. So all of these numbers are for the third year and beyond.

Having said that, let's dive in.

Sports Business Journal has reported two different rate sheets for the in-state subscriber costs -- one was $1.30 a month and the other, the most recent deal with Comcast, was $1.40 per month. Let's be conservative and say that the rate will average $1.30 a month in the SEC states. Multiplying that rate times the 28 million cable and satellite subscribers in the 11 SEC states yields us $436.8 million. The reported rate for non-SEC states has held pretty consistent at .25 per month, or $3 a year. That's 47 million additional households and adds up to $141 million. This gives us total subscriber revenue of $577.8 million. (The difference from the bolded number above is based on lowering the average subscriber rate in the SEC from $1.40 to $1.30).

Then let's get into advertising.

I've been using the existing ESPN model to forecast ad sales for the SEC Network. (ESPN gets about 25% of its revenue from ad sales). But let's say that hoping for a similar percentage for the SEC Network is too optimistic since this is a regional network that's just starting out and doesn't have guaranteed ratings or sales infrastructure in place.

So let's cut that percentage in half and say the SEC Network will only do $72 million in ad sales. That gets us to an easy number, $650 million in total revenue. Then we have to subtract $100 million in costs -- the same number as the Pac 12 Network recently did -- and we're left with $550 million to split between ESPN and the SEC.

The official split between the conference and ESPN isn't public, but I've been told by several people on both sides of the deal that 50/50 is pretty accurate.

Using that as a template then the SEC would receive $275 million. Dividing that between the 14 member schools leaves us right at $19.6 million per school. This means that combined with the existing money coming in from ESPN and CBS, every SEC school will be bringing in a whopping $40 million or more in TV revenue by the third year of the SEC Network. That's roughly double what the league schools receive right now and $15 million more per school than any conference received in 2013.

Putting that TV money into perspective, $40 million in revenue would have made you the 62st largest athletic department in the country last year. Using Mississippi State as an example, the SEC Network money that Outkick projects the Bulldogs will land in three years, would take State, the lowest revenue producing school in the SEC, from the 49th largest athletic program in the country to around the 30th largest.

For schools like Alabama and Florida, already among the top revenue schools in the country, the SEC Network money will allow them to challenge Texas for the title of largest athletic department in the country. Remember when the Longhorn Network seemed like a big deal?

Every SEC school will make more money off the SEC Network than Texas does off the Longhorn Network.

Put simply, the SEC Network is one of the biggest game changers in the history of college athletics. And most still haven't recognized this fact yet. The SEC Network's impact is going to be monumental.