I hope you like ESPN ...
Hey everyone. The SEC just announced a 15-year partnership with ESPN, which ensures that more conference games in all sports will be televised on The Worldwide Leader.THE BASICS:
- New 15-year deal begins in 2009 and runs through the 2023-24 season.
- The Sports Business Journal reported Monday that the deal is worth $2.25 billion. With a B.
- That's approximately $12 million per school per year.
- Auburn's current athletic budget is just shy of $50 million per year.
- ESPN expands its "ESPN Regional Television" enterprise and will use that to telecast everything previously handled by Raycom/JP/Lincoln Financial. That includes the 11:30 a.m. football games ... beginning next season.
- ESPN expands men's basketball coverage significantly, adding the SEC back into the "Super Tuesday" slot and creates a Saturday slot. Games will continue to be televised on Wednesdays as well.
OK. Here is a more detailed breakdown on the details:
- They'll still be showing the two Saturday games per week and two Thursday games (per season) ... and will triple the basketball offerings. They'll televise three nights of men’s basketball per week and present SEC Championships in women’s basketball, baseball, softball and gymnastics.
- ESPN Regional Television will become the new over-the-air syndication home for SEC football and basketball games. In addition, ESPN and the SEC will work together to offer multi-sport packages (including football, men’s and women’s basketball, Olympic sports and conference championships) of SEC content for regional cable syndication.
- ESPNU will now offer exclusive SEC telecasts, including football and basketball and selected conference championships. In addition, the network will present a weekly, hour-long program on SEC sports throughout the academic year as well as sport-by-sport previews, reviews and specials.
- The semifinals and championship of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament will be televised on ABC.
- All SEC championship games except football will be aired on either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN on ABC, ESPNU or ESPN Classic.
- The agreement will also showcase the academic successes of SEC student-athletes by including twice-annual programs dedicated to academic accomplishments of SEC student-athletes; an annual Campus Connection (students take part in the production) telecast at each SEC institution; a weekly segment on an SEC show featuring academics; and an online SEC Academic Network utilizing ESPN360.com technology.
- Extensive coverage of women’s basketball and Olympic sports will be offered nationally through ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU and regionally through ESPN Regional Television, including both regular-season and conference championships.
- Comprehensive multimedia rights are also an integral part of the agreement as live SEC action, including football and basketball, will be offered via simulcasts on ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV and extensive content rights have been granted to ESPN.com.
IMPACT ON FOOTBALL COVERAGE:- Lou Holtz will spit his way into millions more homes each weekend, which surely will enrich the lives of caustic fans across the country. His down-home colloquialisms add so much to ESPN's coverage and I, for one, am looking forward to many more years with Coach Holtz providing us simulated pep talks and pointless rants.
- ESPN has acquired rights to every SEC home football game (excluding those on the network broadcast package) and will serve as the exclusive national cable home and the syndication rightsholder for the conference.
- ESPN and ESPN2: The networks will increase coverage by combining to televise a minimum of 20 SEC games annually, including Saturday night and two primetime Thursday matchups.
- ESPNU: It will present a package of SEC football for the first time, with a Saturday game-of-the-week (generally in primetime and a minimum of 13 games annually).
- ESPN Regional Television (ERT): The nation’s largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, becomes the official over-the-air syndication home for the SEC and will feature a game-of-the-week package (generally at 12:30 p.m. ET), with a minimum of 13 games each season. In addition, ERT will produce and distribute a studio show.
- ESPN360.com: Simulcasts of SEC game telecasts will be offered on the broadband network.
- ESPN Mobile TV: Live games will be simulcast on mobile phones.
- ESPN International: The agreement includes global rights to present live games and encore presentations.
- ESPN Deportes: ESPN has acquired domestic Spanish-language rights for SEC football on the 24-hour, U.S.-based network.
- ESPN GamePlan: The out-of-market college football pay-per-view service, will offer SEC action.
- ESPN Classic: The network may telecast select SEC live games as well as historic and immediate encore presentations.
- ESPN.com: Extensive SEC content, including highlights, will be presented online.
IMPACT ON MEN'S BASKETBALL COVERAGE:- You're looking at SEC games three nights per week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday) on ESPN and ESPN2. The SEC will also continue to participate in an annual inter-conference basketball challenge event (e.g. – SEC/Big East Challenge).
- ESPNU will televise seven intra-conference and five non-conference games.
- ABC will televise a minimum of two regular-season games each season plus the addition of a national telecast of the SEC Tournament Semifinals and Championship Game, giving ABC its first entry into the annual Championship Week.
- ESPN Regional Television (ERT) takes over rights to SEC syndication and will produce and syndicate a minimum of 37 intra-conference games each season throughout SEC territories and beyond. This replaces the Raycom/JP/LFS telecasts.
posted by Jay G. Tate at
1:59 PM
65 Comments:
Wow. I think that is great news. But, let me ask you 2 questions. Does this have any affect on this years football tv schedule? Also right now there are a JP game, a CBS game, and a ESPN game almost every weekend. Sometimes a game on ESPN 2 or 2 games instead of 1 on CBS....How many SEC games can you see being televised on any given Saturday under this new deal? Thanks for the hard work Jay...I enjoy the blog
I think this is great for SEC basketball, especially the conference tournament. I never understood why all of the games were a regional broadcast except the championship game.
Does this mean the end of the 11:30Raycom game of the week with the 3 Daves?
OK. I'm trying to get answers to these questions myself.
I'm 99% sure the Raycom/JP/LFS coverage will continue as planned this season. I just don't see how those contracts can be voided this close to kickoff.
ESPN will be taking over that slot beginning in 2009. We need to take up a collection for the Daves.
The SEC just signed a new deal with CBS (like last week) so those 2:30 games aren't going anyehere.
Jay, would you say this is the alternative to the proposed SEC-TV Network?
Absolutely.
The SEC Network is at least a generation away now.
I have absolutely no idea what you just told me. Do I need to get more stations or what?
PP, if you dont have ESPNU & ESPN CLASSIC then you better starty hammering your cabel subscriber now so that they add them to your TV lineup!!!!
I think I have those. It's the other stuff that lost me. I feel like I need a manual of some kind.
The 11:30 game will always be known as the JP game in my house. The evil empire of ESPN cant take that away from me.
RIP JP game.
Does this mean that for the next 15 years an SEC team will get an automatic invitation to the MNC bowl?
It is very easy to crap all over the JP game, but to me, losing the JP game is pretty sad. Call me nostalgic, but the new ESPN game will definitley not have a southern feel (which JP caters to) and you had better hope that you cable provider allows you to watch your favorite team on whichever ESPN channel the game is played. I can remember the good ole days when I lived on Magnolia or Glenn and football started on the local JP station at 11:00 AM...crown and sprite in hand....
pretty pumped about ESPN. i'm not anti-JP/LF/Raycom but ESPN is the best....period.
just got a dvd in the mail from Tigers Unlimited that thanked me for 'making a difference'.
sweet. ;)
They don't call ESPN "The Worldwide Leader" for nothing.
I, too, enjoyed the JP stuff.
So it goes.
From what I understand, ESPN will now own every SEC football game that CBS does not pick.
ESPN will also broadcast every SEC men's basketball game (gmaes involving 2 SEC teams) that are not broadcast by CBS
In a nutshell: CBS has dibs, ESPN owns everything else.
Also, beginning in 2009, ESPN Regional Television will broadcast that JP game (so the 11:30 a.m. football time-slot lives)
No word on if the Daves will get picked up by the Ocho or not, but CBS has confirmed that we'll all be subjected to the moronic diatribes of Verne Lundquist again this year.
If I ever see something that old, pale and fat try & do the 'Soulja Boi' again, I'll friggin blind myself.
my only real problem with JP/LF was the picture quality. now that Raycom is going HD i guess we'll soon see what we will be missing next season. the triple dave threat never bothered me. i've met them before and they were pretty nice.
uh...ouch. glad i missed the 'soulja boy'. egads.
for those of us living in pac 10 hell, this is great news!
World record for most people named 'scott' on a blog. I will now be Scottatl.
P.S I agree it is great for AU fans no longer in Dixie!
This is DEFINITELY a major development for AU peeps outside the South. You're in really good shape now.
OMG, i used to live in the ATL.... this blog just may explode. :)
Sorry ... I kept seeing misspelled words and it just bugs me.
Okay. I have done some Zen moves and prepared myself for a possible onslaught of "Phred's an idiot" comments.
I have decided there is no QB controversy. The whole thing is a ploy. I think Tubs and crew have finally learned how and are testing their ability, to manipulate the media, and not just be friendly to it. It's two QBs. It's been two QBs, and everybody has known it since the spring.
But, I'm an idiot so what do I know.
In other news, speaking of idiots ...
Finebaum attracts the ones who happen to be Bammers like an electro super magnet. Today's theme - Julio, having never even played a single collegiate snap, is going to single handedly carry the Criminal Tide to their greatest height in decades. Predictions included 3 touchdowns and 200 yards recieving against Clemson.
Julio Jones ... WR without equal. Superhuman. Divinely Inspired. The list goes on ...
He'd start at Auburn, right?
phred,
How are they trying to manipulate the media when they have said both quarterbacks will play from the begining? That doesn't sound like manipulation or controversy. They say i don't know who will start, as in take the first snap, which doesn't sound like a big deal to me. I think the starting quarterback should be determined by a game of paper, rock, scissors at mid-field preceding the coin toss.
RM: You and I have the same point in a way. There are media types who are just itching for trouble. I think Tubs and crew are egging it on with this whole "Gee, I just don't really know" thing.
Jay G: Was that a rhetorical question or a facetious statement?
I see what you are saying i just don't think it's that dramatic.
I've changed my mind Kodi Burns and Chris Todd should square off in a game of NBA JAM and it shall be televised on the big screen before the band comes out.
Well, Julio Jones is a very good player who probably will be at least somewhat successful this season. Why cast aspersions toward Alabama fans for loving on their new guy? I get a lot of questions about PPL. It's the same thing.
Also, I don't think this quarterback quandary is some conspiracy by the coaches to mess with the media. Tony Franklin likes them both. Really.
I prefer a showdown of Celtics-Lakers on Genesis.
Kodi calls dibs on Tom Chambers.
I don't really think it's that dramatic either, but I think it is practice for later on this year.
Jay G is rolling his eyes, and yes, I'm completely pulling this out of my rear end, but I think they are practicing the art of making the local sports media the 12th man.
This works on everyone except Mr. Tate, of course.
Dude, it's different. You'd just have to hear it for yourself. I don't think anybody has claimed PPL as the second coming. These guys talk like he throws it to himself and makes his own block. You have never heard anything crazier.
Where is the haiku guy when I need him?
Julio would not start his first game at Auburn. The cadillac didn't start his first game. Ben Obumanu didn't start his first. Tray Blackmon didn't start his first. Auburn doesn't roll that way.
Further, I prefer my porn retro French with extra pubic hair.
I have seen the legendary "leaping" from out of bounds catch that Saban raised heck over. #1 Julio didn't jump. #2 He didn't come from out of bounds nor did he somehow manipulate gravity and inertia to make this catch. #3 He did lay a sweet ass stiff arm on a so called All SEC corner.
THAT is in fact heavyweight material. Julio's strong. He's going to make big plays. But so did Calvin Johnson and Plex Burress. Their teams didn't win much.
i guess we'll see sat. nite vs. clemsom all this JJ bama hoopla. no doubt he will be a great player....but even great players get game planned around and relegated to the sideline. coach paul rhoades, your thoughts.....
and yes, PPL has not been thought of as the second coming. but i wouldn't be upset if he's close. wde.
If I were Tony Franklin, and obviously I'm not - although I do think he is a little whacky like me - I would literally start both QBs. Seriously. First offensive play, two QBs in the game.
That would drive 'em nuts!
anonymous just waxed that he whacks for unwaxed
The QB "controversy" is for Bama fans and gossip hos and tricks. It's not real until it causes a problem.
anon: If you don't think Julio would start his first game at Auburn than I am guessing you have never seen this guy play live. Its hard to tell on video just how big and strong the guy is. I'm sure I'll catch hell for this, but if you look at this realistically,
we don't have a single reciever that could start over Julio. I wouldn't say this if I had not seen him several times over the past 3 years play against great competition and be head and shoulders above every player on he field. He can be stopped, he is not superman, and he not Randy Moss. He would be the best reciever on our team though, I hate that, but its the truth. If anybody else has seen this guy play (on TV doesn't count) and disagrees than we were watching 2 different players
I don't think I'm confused, might be though.
I'm pretty sure I saw him vs. Prattville. Two catches.
ANYONE that predicts a true freshman WR is going to catch 3 TDs in his first CFB game against the #9 preseason team is....wait....here it comes....DELUSIONAL!!
Two catches vs. Daphne on ESPN. I've seen him for years. He's good. He's just not finely tuned in the area of technique anymore than Slaughter hasn't been until now.
He's a great athlete, not not a great receiver YET. He certainly has every tool he needs if he checks out upstairs to be a multi millionaire
Auburn just doesn't start true freshman from the first ticks of the season. Just doesn't happen.
Maybe I really am confused. Did I not see Foley play Prattville in P'ville last year?
Wait a minute, just about every player you see on the field any given Saturday was head and shoulders above his competition in high school. Everybody in the country wanted Obamanu and just about everybody wanted Hawthorne. Ben was a good college player and now he's struggling to keep a job in the league. Hawthorne, given some rough circumstances, has yet to make a significant play save a few beautiful downfield blocks.
We shouldn't detest Julio's skill because he plays for the arch rival. He's got it, man. Let the Tide fans rejoice and dream. That's what it's all about. We're about to see the West go down in state the next few years.
I was wrong. Julio vs. Prattville
Prattville 38
Julio 14
Julio
5 catches for 25 yards
4 rushes for 20 yards
Ziemba started the first game last year.
I saw Julio twice last year and he completely PWNED the two CB's I saw him matched up with.
Sure, they were 5'6, 140, and four steps too slow.....but still.
Hip hop ... thanks for making my point. P'ville has some pretty big boys yet very few are headed off for D1 stardom. Julio's two performances against them? Both busts. I can run over my little sister, but I out weigh her by 100 lbs.
Maybe he will be able to hover in the air and fly into the endzone. If he does ... great for Bama. But, just like with every player ... you'd kind of like to see it first.
We get finebaum on tape delay down here, and i just heard a/the guy who said julio jones would catch for 200 yards and 2 or 3 td's and be the heisman front runner come sunday. Finebaum said, "sir are you on drugs?" He responded with, "no but two years ago i was." That's classic.
Julio Jones is going to be really good. The better he gets the bigger his ego gets and one day that spaceship they call a stadium is going to explode. That's my theory.
I am so glad you heard that. It's worth hearing. I was beginning to wonder if I am the only guy in the world who thinks that is completely nutso.
fred, you love to repeat yourself...are you confused about that? I didn't keep up with who you watched last year. I know Prattville shut him down, that why I said that he could be stopped. I just used alot of words to try and say what anon said a few posts above, don't discredit the guy's skills just cause he plays for bama.
Why not?
But hey, that's cool. I agree with RM though. Just more and sooner.
Julio = housing bubble
Pop!
Ron, I subscribe to your theory. What do you call this phenomenon?
"anonymous just waxed that he whacks for unwaxed"
That's really good work.
Julio is a very bad man and he'll be a good player. Alabama is going to take a big step forward next season and JJ will be a big part of it.
If Auburn's offense comes around, though, I don't see why the Tigers won't again be SEC title contenders.
Another random observation: A year from now, I bet we'll be talking about how AU's secondary will be the nation's best. All these first-team guys return ... and at least one of these freshmen (Thompson, Thorpe, Hood, H. Adams) will be a stud.
Bill: the first time I was being facetious. The second time, I actually thought I was confused.
Bill: the first time I was being facetious. The second time, I actually thought I was confused.
Thanks for changing the subject. My so called darkhorse is Thompson. Apparently Thorpe has the tools and the long "levers" to be special or "dynamic" if I were a certain coach with a seasoned belly.
But Thompson is a guy that came on big time his senior year. He grew. He worked out hard. And he likes to knock skulls. His high school coach said he just does things right. So far Tubs has said the same thing. Tubs is obviously confident in him as he hasn't had much to say since being very impressed with him that first week of fall camp. His mind is at ease with Thmpson.
Safeties don't get the love that corners do. Think about Etheridge last year. My money's on Thompson.
Powers, Savage, McFadden all back next year...
I think Jay has a good feel for what he's been watching this fall. I used to listen to him come on air in Mobile when Neal was around. Jay could call a game like none of those guys could. If I heard that dudish doubt in his voice, my Tigers usually lost. Jay's got a knack for understanding Auburn's strengths and weaknesses.
How many times did I hear Neal go "really? Really!?". Like, what have I been missing sitting around in this studio with these knuckleheads talking about 'cruitin'.
touche fred
Well, I'm glad someone thinks I have a clue.
My homies over on the ITAT message board deemed me a "douchenozzle" this morning. I think that's a promotion.
Junior Rosegreen. Coolest looking AU player while in uni of all time.
How 'bout them apples?
Trying to get back on the original subject.. I don't understand the ESPN Regional thing. By syndicated, does that mean they could still be on "non-ESPN" channels? Living in Tarheel land, I would have to drive 3 hours to a TV showning the JP/LF/Raycom AU games that weren't on GamePlan.
Douchenozzle. Hmmm. When I hear one like that I have to spend a few minutes visualizing it. On this one, I can't seem to work the symbolism if there is any.
What is this ITAT you speak of?
ESPN Regional really is ESPN Plus. I think it will be shown on non-ESPN networks ... just as JP/LFS/Raycom has.
They really would have to have ESPN Ocho to handle all this programming on their own networks.
I just added some information to the initial blog post.
The deal reportedly is worth $2.25 billion. With a B.
That's approximately $12 million per school per year.
Auburn's current athletic budget is approximately $50 million.
Is 63 comments a record?
Sorry G ... I couldn't seem to get off my box.
I'm done with that though. For the record, I think you have a clue. But I am clueless as to what a doochenozzle is. Doesn't sound like I want to.
Adios Amigos ... Julio for Heisman
Its all about chasing shadows.
By that I mean latching on to this or that latest, most innovative idea that some self styled money making guru has put out in the hope it’ll go viral and make them a lot of money off the backs of all the headless chickens who will follow them blindly down a blind alley. Its a shame but a truism nonetheless that people will follow where someone they see as an expert leads. Even if they lead them to certain disaster, which is what most of the gurus tend to do to their flocks.
The trick is to recognize a shadow when you see it!
www.onlineuniversalwork.com
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