The Southeastern Conference is again opting to look at creating a network similiar to the Big Ten Network. The SEC has considered a conference network before, back in 2008. Now, the SEC and ESPN have started small discussions about creating a channel dedicated to the conference. According to Solomo, most of the talk is focused on negotiating a new value in 2012-13 for their contract because the SEC added Mizzou and Texas A & M.
Flordia president Bernie Machen, a St. Louis native thinks the time is right for the SEC’s own network. “We think we have a lot of interest in our league that’s not yet available,” Machen said Thursday. “We think the public would like to see more of our conference and I think we could make that available to them. It’s going to take awhile, (at least a year) before it will all get put together.”
The SEC and ESPN will need an arrangement that makes it a viable financial risk for both parties. The earliest an SEC channel could start is 2014.
Click here for more on the story from Jon Solomon of Birmingham News.
