NCAA

Conference
Television
Networks
BY:

Brittany Anderson
Alex Gouin
Whitney Hill

College Football on TV

First televised college football game September 30, 1939, between

Waynesburg and Fordham

NBC broadcast the game

Broadcast reached an estimated 1,000 television sets
The introduction of sports-specific television networks has
increased the amount of air-time available for coverage
Today, dozens of games are available for viewing each week of the
football season

Most Valuable Conferences in

College Sports

Conferenc
e

Total
Income

Bowl
Games

NCAA
TV
Tournamen
revenue
ts

Big Ten

$310 million

$40 million

$20 million

$250 million

Pac-12

$303 million

$39 million

$14 million

$250 million

ACC

$293 million

$35 million

$17 million

$240 million

SEC

$270 million

$50 million

$15 million

$205 million

Conference Viewership

Conference

Avg.
Basketball
Viewership

Avg. Football
Viewership

Total Avg.
Viewership

SEC

1,222,000

4,447,000

5,669,000

Big Ten

1,496,000

3,267,000

4,763,000

ACC

1,247,000

2,650,000

3,897,000

Big 12

1,069,000

2,347,000

3,416,000

Big East

1,049,000

1,884,000

2,933,000

Pac-12

783,000

2,108,000

2,891,000

Big Ten Network

Generated record $242 million in revenue last
year
Up 46% from inaugural season in 2008
Each school took home roughly $7.2 million
Considering the SECs significantly larger
viewership, an average 4.4 million football
viewers to the Big Tens 3.3 million, the SEC
should have little trouble catching up.

Pac-12 Network
Conference owns network
Has a 12-year $3 billion deal with FOX/ESPN
Each school estimated to take home $30
million annually
Have had trouble getting picked up by cable
networks and DirecTv

University of Texas Longhorn

Network
ESPN partnership
Only available to 2% of Austin
residents prior to July 2012
Has not been picked up by Time
Warner
The Austin areas largest cable provider

SEC Network

The SEC has a cornered market in the South and a chance to

strengthen the national brand from New York to California

The SECs incredible popularity not only in the Southeast but across
the nation should be more than enough to attract both cable and
satellite providers

The league has a good product, a plan to put some of its better
games on the network, the backing of ESPN and incentive to
restructure traditional media-rights deals.

24/7 SEC programming will consist of live games, studio shows,

analysis, replays, and features.

Deal is expected to go for 15-20 years

SEC Network cont.

Projected launch date is August 2014

Headquarters are expected to be located in Charlotte, North Carolina

Network plans to show all sports

Broad distribution including the 11 SEC states

Network will be able to show any conference games outside of CBSs

weekly SEC college football game

League may not know true value until 2016

Estimated eventual worth of around $400 million per year in SEC

television revenue from ESPN and CBS.

SEC Network Timeline

ESPNs Role
ESPN is what will set network apart
Key to making money with a cable channel is tied
more to subscribers than it is to ad sales.
Ad sales are seasonal and are impacted by ebbs and
flows in the economy, whereas subscription prices are
steady.
To make the most money in the current environment a
network must get carriage on as many cable &
satellite systems as possible.

ESPNs Role cont.

ESPN must help sell the network
SEC trusts that ESPNs brand name, coupled with the SECs
track record will deliver in negotiations.
ESPN will control the entire inventory of SEC games with the
exception of CBSs single game each week.
ESPN will have a lot of flexibility to use certain games in markets
where it is having trouble gaining distribution.
Such leverage is important as negotiations with distributors
have been the most difficult part in the launch of college
conference networks.

ESPNs Role cont.

Since the conference gained control of its digital and
sponsorship rights they will role over to ESPN as well.
This will enable ESPN to have TV, digital, and sponsorship
rights for the conference under one umbrella.
Being able to package TV and digital advertising in
corporate sponsorship deals is considered a vital revenue
component.
Neither the conference nor ESPN wanted multiple partners
selling those rights in the marketplace.

Dangers and
Challenges
Basic challenge of gaining carriage for the new channel
Stand-offs existed between networks and cable providers before
DirecTV doesnt carry the Pac-12 Network
Few providers have picked up The Longhorn Network
Time Warner Cable went without the NFL Network for years
Televisions last true big ticket, live sports, is the only product
strong enough to generate the demand required to force the
hands of the cable companies.

Dangers and
Challenges
The more money a league or network demands
the harder the sell can be.
ESPN will be a dominant player in college
football broadcasting
Danger in putting marquee conference games on
start-up network adds risk to Big ESPN ratings
Finding the appropriate programming mix to generate
demand for SEC Network to make it profitable

Dangers and
Challenges
Conference channel must:
Navigate pricing, network fees and tiers of service the network
will carry
Negotiate with markets outside the footprint
Advertising sales
Keep everyone relatively happy

However, the SEC seems to have three things in its favor:

The countrys best football
A dedication to broadcasting meaningful games on the channel
Television carriers that are used to negotiations with conference
channels

References
SEC Network timeline: The conference's journey to its own television channel |al.com. (n.d.). Alabama Local News, Breaking News, Sports
& Weather - al.com. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/04/
sec_network_timeline_the_confe.html
2012 NCAA Television Revenue By Conference | CollegeSportsInfo.com. (n.d.). CollegeSportsInfo.com: College Sports News & NCAA
Conference Updates. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://collegesportsinfo.com/2012/05/10/2012-ncaa-television-revenue-byconference/
4. SEC - The Most Valuable Conferences In College Sports - Forbes. (n.d.). Information for the World's Business Leaders - Forbes.com.
Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://www.forbes.com/pictures/emdm45lmel/4-sec/
An SEC Network Will Prove The Conference's Dominance Off The Field, Too - Forbes. (n.d.). Information for the World's Business Leaders Forbes.com. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2012/09/21/sec-network-will-prove-the-conferencesdominance-off-the-field-too/
ESPN | MrSEC. (n.d.). MrSEC.com | SEC Football News | SEC Basketball News | SEC Football Recruiting | SEC Basketball Recruiting | SEC
Message Board. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://www.mrsec.com/tags/espn/
Ellis, Z. (n.d.). SEC, ESPN to formally announce launch of SEC network next week | Campus Union - SI.com. Campus Union - SI.com.
Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://college-football.si.com/2013/04/12/sec-network-espn/
Kirk, J. (n.d.). Expect SEC Network to be ominous, expensive, everywhere - SBNation.com. Sports News, Scores and Fan Opinion Powered
by 310 Sports Blogs. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/4/16/4230478/sec-football-tv-network
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SEC Network: The danger of ESPN eating itself | April | 2013. (n.d.). Awful Announcing - Putting Announcers on Notice Since 2006.
Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2013/april/sec-network-the-danger-of-espn-eating-itself.html
SEC, ESPN To Announce SEC Network, Likely The Most Valuable TV Deal In College Sports - Forbes. (n.d.). Information for the World's
Business Leaders - Forbes.com. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2013/04/12/sec-espn-to-announcesec-network-likely-the-most-valuable-tv-deal-in-college-sports/?utm_campaign=forbestwittersf&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
Will SEC Network Cannibalize Viewership | April | 2013 Articles. (n.d.). Leather Helmet Blog - An Old-School View of UGA and SEC Football.
Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://www.leatherhelmetblog.com/2013-articles/april/will-sec-network-cannibalize-viewership.html