August 14, 2008

SEC signs 15-year TV deal with CBS

To quote Senator Blutarsky, "Holy mother of crap."

Calling the SEC “the gold standard of college athletics,” CBS announced Thursday that it had signed an unprecedented 15-year extension to show the league’s football and men’s basketball game through the year 2023. Financial terms of the deal were not released.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the new deal does not preclude the SEC from starting its own broadcast network. So -- theoretically -- its still feasible for the SEC to launch its own channel in the future if it chooses to move games away from traditional partners Raycom and ESPN.

Under the terms of the new agreement, CBS will get the first pick of which football games to broadcast. In the past, the SEC had given the first choice to ESPN. CBS will also broadcast one prime time game during the season.

The AJC notes that CBS will have some digital and wireless rights, which may prompt the network to stream games on the internet.

My thought is... fifteen years is a long, long, long time. Are we even going to have TV's in 15 years?! (I'm only half serious about that).

Comments:

SEC signs 15-year TV deal with CBS
To quote Senator Blutarsky, "Holy mother of crap."
Calling the SEC “the gold standard of college athletics,” CBS announced Thursday that it had signed an unprecedented 15-year extension to show the league’s football and men’s basketball game through the year 2023. Financial terms of the deal were not released.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the new deal does not preclude the SEC from starting its own broadcast network. So -- theoretically -- its still feasible for the SEC to launch its own channel in the future if it chooses to move games away from traditional partners Raycom and ESPN. Under the terms of the new agreement, CBS will get the first pick of which football games to broadcast. In the past, the SEC had given the first choice to ESPN. CBS will also broadcast one prime time game during the season. The AJC notes that CBS will have some digital and wireless rights, which may prompt the network to stream games on the internet. My thought is... fifteen years is a long, long, long time. Are we even going to have TV's in 15 years?! (I'm only half serious about that).