🏈 Report: SEC Network looks to charge higher rate than other conference channels

[BAMANEWSBOT]

ESPN is looking to charge a fee of $1.30 per monthly subscriber for the SEC Network within the SEC's geographic footprint, a higher rate than other conference channels, according to the SportsBusiness Journal.

That would be the fee for cable and satellite operators within the SEC's 11-state footprint, and it would drop to 25 cents outside SEC territory, according to the report, which cited anonymous sources. The SEC Network has taken an aggressive approach in its price, which some cable and satellite operators could balk at as they negotiate a price.

The Big Ten Network with Fox charges up to $1 in its 11-state footprint, and subscription fees inside and outside the footprint average 37 cents, according to researcher SNL Kagan. The SportsBusiness Journal said the SEC Network will also be more expensive than the Pac-12 channels.

One key point that could be in the SEC Network's favor is that the Dish Network, the country's third-largest distributor, has agreed to broadcast the channel when it launches in August, according to the SportsBusiness Journal. The report said the agreement is not completed yet because it is part of a larger renewal deal with ESPN.

Dish Network is in the home of about 14 million subscribers. Previously, ESPN announced AT&T U-Verse (with 4.5 million subscribers) had said it would carry the SEC Network. Carriage deals with cable and satellite companies typically come down to the last minute before a new network launches.

The SEC and ESPN plan to leverage which games appear on the SEC Network based on distribution negotiations, hoping the outcry from fans of the game potentially not being on TV will drive home deals. Three games will appear weekly on the SEC Network.

For instance, the first SEC Network game between Texas A&M and South Carolina are between two schools in heavy Time Warner markets. A doubleheader game was added between Vanderbilt (a Comcast market) and Temple (located in Comcast's hometown). Time Warner and Comcast are the largest cable operators in SEC territory.

The SEC Network comes at a time when more viewers are getting their video from other sources beyond cable or satellite companies, or simply cutting the chord altogether.

 

[sean]

it could be $10/month and i'd still get it. i ain't gonna miss my football.

i've gotten every ppv game that 'BAMA has had since we've had satellite and i'm not about to start missing games because of some small monthly fee.

all i need to know is what channel # it's gonna be so i can add it to my remote.

 

[TerryP]

it could be $10/month and i'd still get it. i ain't gonna miss my football.

i've gotten every ppv game that 'BAMA has had since we've had satellite and i'm not about to start missing games because of some small monthly fee.

all i need to know is what channel # it's gonna be so i can add it to my remote.

I'll be a bit pissed if it's not included on the tier I'm at with U-verse especially given the fact I get the B1G network right now...and the closest B1G team is over 1200 miles away.

 

[kudzu]

Terry if I can ask what Tier U-verse do you have and what area are you in. I'm in Pensacola with the 350 tier and from my understanding we should be good. I haven't found out if our bill will reflect the SEC network or not.
I don't mind a small fee as long as it's small.

 

[TerryP]

Terry if I can ask what Tier U-verse do you have and what area are you in. I'm in Pensacola with the 350 tier and from my understanding we should be good. I haven't found out if our bill will reflect the SEC network or not.
I don't mind a small fee as long as it's small.

We don't get a 350 tier. I believe it's 200, 300, and then 450.

The 300 includes HD but doesn't include the premium movie channels.

I'm in Charleston, SC.

 

[planomateo]

it could be $10/month and i'd still get it. i ain't gonna miss my football.

i've gotten every ppv game that 'BAMA has had since we've had satellite and i'm not about to start missing games because of some small monthly fee.

all i need to know is what channel # it's gonna be so i can add it to my remote.

I won't pay $10 for the channel. ESPN is already ~40% of my bill, it won't get anymore from me.

 

[TerryP]

I won't pay $10 for the channel. ESPN is already ~40% of my bill, it won't get anymore from me.

Dayum!!!

I'm not sure what cable TV comes out to be with my service considering the discount for bundling Internet and TV.

I've got ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN News, and Classic. ESPN is what, 5.40 per month? With all five channels I'm thinking that's around 10-12 bucks...so maybe 20% at the most!

 

[planomateo]

Dayum!!!

I'm not sure what cable TV comes out to be with my service considering the discount for bundling Internet and TV.

I've got ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN News, and Classic. ESPN is what, 5.40 per month? With all five channels I'm thinking that's around 10-12 bucks...so maybe 20% at the most!

Yeah, I was looking at the wrong value...ignore my ~40% comment.

Last update I saw, ESPN $5.40, ESPN2 $0.68, and ESPNU $0.18. Regardless, I still won't pay $10 for the SEC Network. I'm damn close to dropping satellite TV as it is, tired of paying way too much for TV. They need to go fully a la carte and let me pick what channels I want.

 

[JoshB]

All the ESPN's come with the "premium" cable package here thankfully, but if they dont carry the SEC Network I'll be looking elsewhere.

 

[RollllTide!]

Any word on Directv? Bueller,......... Bueller............Bueller?

 

[sean]

All the ESPN's come with the "premium" cable package here thankfully, but if they dont carry the SEC Network I'll be looking elsewhere.

same here. we've got dish with the America's Top 250 package. it has everything except for the premium channels (hbo, showtime, cinemax, etc.; and i don't need those).

 

[mattoct3003]

Yea I have Dish with the 250 as well and it's all we want to watch and a ton of crap we don't. I agree with the previous poster that said it would be sweet if we could one day get to pick what we really watch. I wouldn't pay money for the movie channels either. For what you pay a month you can buy all the movies they play that month. They play the same things over and over.

 

[JoshB]

same here. we've got dish with the America's Top 250 package. it has everything except for the premium channels (hbo, showtime, cinemax, etc.; and i don't need those).

You NEED HBO bro... Boxing and Boardwalk Empire are musts lol

 

[TerryP]

Any word on Directv? Bueller,......... Bueller............Bueller?

The last time I looked, which was right at the end of the regular season, the two companies hadn't started negotiations.

 

[planomateo]

I've been doing some reading on this, reports have this $1-$2 range per month per customer.

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http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2014/01/13/Media/SEC-net.aspx

[video]http://serve.castfire.com/audio/2041950/2041950_2014-01-10-174650.default.mp3[/video]

Distributors in SEC country can expect to pay a rate of $1.30 to carry the soon-to-be-launched SEC Network, according to several sources with knowledge of the rate card.

That fee, paid on a monthly per-subscriber basis, is what cable and satellite companies within the SEC’s 11-state footprint would pay to ESPN, the owner of the SEC Network. Outside of SEC territory, the channel’s license fee drops to 25 cents.

Cable operators are certain to blanche at the network’s price tag, which is more expensive than other college conference channels like Big Ten Network and Pac-12 Networks.

But ESPN could have leverage as it negotiates with cable operators, as it appears to be on the cusp of landing a deal with one of the industry’s biggest distributors. Sources said that the country’s third-largest distributor, Dish Network, has agreed to carry the channel from its August launch. The deal has not been completed and is part of a bigger overall deal that it is negotiating with ESPN. Dish’s ESPN deal expired at the end of September, but the two worked out an extension, and they are still negotiating terms. Sources say SEC Network carriage is not a sticking point in these talks.

Dish Network’s national reach and roughly 14 million subscribers would be a significant deal for the new network. AT&T U-verse, with 4.5 million subscribers, previously said that it would carry the channel. It’s unusual for channels to have distribution deals so far in front of a channel’s launch. Typically, distributors and networks wait until just before or after a launch to agree on carriage terms.

Comcast and Time Warner Cable are the biggest cable operators in the SEC’s footprint, and ESPN is using its schedule to apply pressure against them. The SEC Network’s first football game Aug. 28 will be between two schools based in Time Warner Cable markets: South Carolina and Texas A&M. The second game of its Aug. 28 doubleheader will feature Vanderbilt, which is in a Comcast market, against Temple, in Comcast’s hometown of Philadelphia.

ESPN President John Skipper has said in the past that the network expects the SEC channel to reach distribution on par with ESPNU, which is in nearly 75 million homes.

An in-market rate of $1.30 makes the SEC Network significantly more expensive than the Big Ten Network. BTN launched in 2007 and currently charges up to $1 in its 11-state footprint from New Jersey to Nebraska. Sub fees on average from both inside and outside the footprint average 37 cents, according to researcher SNL Kagan.

ESPN executives have expressed confidence that the SEC Network will get carriage, especially in SEC states, because of the conference’s rabid fan base across sports. It was ESPN’s top-rated football conference in 2012. SEC games account for nine of the 10 most-viewed regular-season college baseball games in ESPNU history, and it holds nine of 10 of the most-viewed college softball games on ESPNU.

David Preschlack, executive vice president of affiliate sales and marketing for Disney and ESPN Networks Group, is leading the talks for ESPN. Justin Connolly, ESPN senior vice president for programming, is leading the creation of the network.

 

[planomateo]

Any word on Directv? Bueller,......... Bueller............Bueller?

The last time I looked, which was right at the end of the regular season, the two companies hadn't started negotiations.

Note that the PAC-12 and DirecTV haven't reached an agreement, DirecTV says the PAC-12 wants too much and that most customers don't want to pay for the network. PAC-12 says their customers want the channel. I don't think the SEC states will have this issue, as the numbers the last few years support that the most viewed games are happening within the SEC schools.

For the record, I'm a DirecTV customer.