The SEC/ESPN Network will launch in August, 2014

The SEC/ESPN Network will launch in August, 2014

The Southeastern Conference and ESPN have signed a 20-year agreement through 2034 to create and operate a multi-platform network, which will launch in August 2014.  SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and ESPN President John Skipper made the announcement with several SEC coaches on hand in Atlanta, GA., including Gary Pinkel and Frank Haith. The new network and its accompanying digital platform will air SEC content 24/7 including more than 1,000 events in its first year.

The network will televise approximately 45 SEC football games, more than 100 men’s basketball games, 60 women’s basketball games, 75 baseball games, and events from across the SEC’s 21 sports annually. Programming will also include studio shows, original content such as SEC Storied, spring football games, signing day and pro days coverage. Hundreds of additional live events from various sports will be offered exclusively on the digital platform.

“The SEC Network will provide an unparalleled fan experience of top quality SEC content presented across the television network and its accompanying digital platforms,” stated Slive. “We will increase exposure of SEC athletics programs at all 14 member institutions, as we showcase the incredible student-athletes in our league. The agreement for a network streamlines and completes an overall media rights package that will continue the SEC’s leadership for the foreseeable future.”

Watch Mike Slive’s announcement

Each weekend throughout the season, the new network will air multiple top-tier matchups from the strongest conference in college football. Since 2006, the SEC has claimed seven consecutive football national championships. In 2011-12, SEC teams won eight national championships: football (Alabama), men’s basketball (Kentucky), gymnastics (Alabama), men’s indoor track and field (Florida), women’s tennis (Florida), women’s golf (Alabama), men’s outdoor track and field (Florida), and softball (Alabama). Since 1990, the SEC has won 149 national team championships for an average of more than six per year.
Skipper said, “The SEC is unmatched in its success on the field and its popularity with fans nationwide. The new network’s top-quality SEC matchups across a range of sports will serve all sports enthusiasts including the most passionate, die-hard SEC fans. Also, it will serve the needs of our multichannel distributors and advertisers by providing extremely attractive programming options across all platforms.”

As part of the agreement, ESPN will now oversee the SEC’s official Corporate Sponsor Program. In addition, ESPN and the SEC also agreed to extend their existing media rights agreement through 2034. ESPN has televised the SEC since 1982. ESPN’s existing networks present more than 1,600 hours of SEC action each year. The new network will focus exclusively on the SEC and add another outlet to deliver sports fans more SEC content than ever.

AT&T U-verse® has been secured as the network’s first national distributor and their subscribers will have access to an unprecedented amount of SEC content across all platforms. The network will originate from ESPN’s Charlotte, N.C., offices with additional staff located at the company’s Bristol, Conn., headquarters.

From MUTigers.com, comments from Mizzou athletics.

Mizzou Director of Athletics Mike Alden:

On the network announcement:
“It’s an exciting thing, not only for our fans at Mizzou, but certainly for fans nationally. The SEC network is a national network and is going to provide so many great opportunities for fans to not only watch the Tigers, but to see all the great competition in all sports throughout the Southeastern Conference.”

On the process of getting the SEC Network for 2014:
“As we know with the network launching in 2014, over the course of the next 14-15 months, the distribution will continue to grow and be seen throughout the country and it will of course take time to build that distribution base. For our fans, our alums, our supporters and our students, those people interested in seeing that distribution grow, they will be able to go to GetSECNetwork.com and over the course of the next few months we will be able to see those distribution plans start to unfold.”

On today’s importance to Mizzou:
“We talked about this being a national network for Mizzou. We know the move to the SEC has already elevated our brand from a national standpoint, and this SEC Network will do that even more so exponentially. So while it’s great for college athletics and great for the SEC, for the University of Missouri and for our brand, this elevates it exponentially because we are now associated with a national network that will give our programs and our name access to major markets throughout the country.”

Head Football Coach Gary Pinkel

On today’s announcement:
“Well certainly Commissioner (Slive) and ESPN together have delivered on the SEC Network for the greatest league in the nation. This network is great for the fans, certainly great for our students, and it now allows people nationally, SEC fans from California to New York, to see all the different programing that we have in the SEC, so it’s a great day for our conference.”

On the SEC Network’s impact on recruiting:
“There’s no question about it. All the coaches in all the sports talked about that here and this is good for everybody. Now as a member of the SEC you can be in every home in the country. It’s so appealing, and we have just been in the league for a year coming from a pretty good league in the Big 12, it’s amazing when you have the brand name of the SEC next to Missouri what that does for all of us.”

Head Men’s Basketball Coach Frank Haith

On today’s announcement:
“This is a game-changing day for our conference and the University of Missouri with regards to exposure and the opportunity to sell our league and our program here at Mizzou. The revenue portion aside, the Southeastern Conference will be seen like never before and the historical success of our conference in all sports has set this up to be a record-breaking venture for many years to come.”

On the SEC Network’s impact on recruiting:
“We had very good visibility in our league before, but this takes it to another level, both in conference play and out of conference. We recruit nationally at Missouri and to be able to go coast to coast and list off the channels families can watch their sons play on every night of the week, wow, that’s a powerful selling point.”