ESPN's John Skipper
SEC's Mike Slive
Dr. Bernie Machen
ESPN's Justin Connolly
Media Q&A
Texas A&M Football
We have compiled the SEC Network announcement in tweetable bits here. Check the official SEC website for more information. Thanks to the SEC for the video rights to this media gathering. The full-length video has been added above. Go to GetSECNetwork.com for information on SEC Network distribution.
SEC Network information:
John Skipper, ESPN president
"I want to announce that we've extended our media rights agreement with the SEC until 2034. It speaks to the confidence we have that the quality of athletics in this conference will remain where it is now."
"Nothing like this has been done before. The level of distribution, quality of production, amount of games ... this is a whole new level."
"The beneficiary of this will be the fans. The breadth of quality of this conference ... we look forward to displaying."
"We believe this conference has national appeal. There are SEC fans in California, Michigan, New York and Nebraska."
"We have created and structured our relationship in a way that is in the best interest of both of us. We are not going to discuss [financial] specifics at this particular time."
"Partnering with our primary rights holder will allow us to move seamlessly between platforms."
"We will not at this particular time, or in the near future, detail our financials. I will say this: We believe that this network will be very successful in terms of distribution and, down the road, potential significant revenue."
"We are a Saturday league. We have agreed to play only two Thursday-night games annually; that will not change."
"We have come to an agreement with CBS to have a games on the network in the early window, the mid-afternoon window and the night window. CBS has first pick, then we will have a board of events to choose from. The platforms will be ESPN, ESPN2 and the SEC Network."
"We had a lot of discussion about scheduling and we voted for the 6-1-1 format. But I anticipate additional discussion of scheduling. I'm open-minded."
"I will oversee the SEC Network's daily operations. ESPN will oversee the SEC Network's official corporate partner program and run its digital platforms."
"We will build on the momentum in this room today."
"Having the fastest-growing distributor on board 16 months in advance of launch provides a lot of optimism."
"Generally speaking, we will target the widest distribution possible in the 11-state SEC footprint. Within that footprint, we'll look at ESPN-level distribution. Outside of those states, we will seek ESPNU-type disetribution."
"Pay-per-view games will now be in the mix in terms of the selection process between networks on ESPN. We won't get into pricing specifics."
Landmark SEC Network unveiled in ceremony in Atlanta
We have compiled the SEC Network announcement in tweetable bits here. Check the official SEC website for more information. Thanks to the SEC for the video rights to this media gathering. The full-length video has been added above. Go to GetSECNetwork.com for information on SEC Network distribution.
SEC Network information:
- Launching August 2014
- Based in Charlotte, NC with support from Bristol
- AT&T U-Verse already on board as first provider
- 450 live events per year, 550 online for a total of 1,000 games broadcast
- 45 football games on the network per year, three per week
- 100 men's basketball games, 60 women's basketball, 75 baseball per year
- Network will be on campus, at games and feature original programming
John Skipper, ESPN president
"Nothing like this has been done before. The level of distribution, quality of production, amount of games ... this is a whole new level."
"The beneficiary of this will be the fans. The breadth of quality of this conference ... we look forward to displaying."
"We believe this conference has national appeal. There are SEC fans in California, Michigan, New York and Nebraska."
Mike Slive, SEC commissioner
"For those of you who have followed this project for the last two-and-a-half years, it's 'goodbye to Project X' - 'Hello SEC Network.' There will be something for every SEC fan, all the time.""We have created and structured our relationship in a way that is in the best interest of both of us. We are not going to discuss [financial] specifics at this particular time."
"Partnering with our primary rights holder will allow us to move seamlessly between platforms."
"We will not at this particular time, or in the near future, detail our financials. I will say this: We believe that this network will be very successful in terms of distribution and, down the road, potential significant revenue."
"We are a Saturday league. We have agreed to play only two Thursday-night games annually; that will not change."
"We have come to an agreement with CBS to have a games on the network in the early window, the mid-afternoon window and the night window. CBS has first pick, then we will have a board of events to choose from. The platforms will be ESPN, ESPN2 and the SEC Network."
"We had a lot of discussion about scheduling and we voted for the 6-1-1 format. But I anticipate additional discussion of scheduling. I'm open-minded."
Justin Connolly, ESPN senior VP of college sports programming
"August 2014 seems a long way off, but it will be here before we know it.""I will oversee the SEC Network's daily operations. ESPN will oversee the SEC Network's official corporate partner program and run its digital platforms."
"We will build on the momentum in this room today."
"Having the fastest-growing distributor on board 16 months in advance of launch provides a lot of optimism."
"Generally speaking, we will target the widest distribution possible in the 11-state SEC footprint. Within that footprint, we'll look at ESPN-level distribution. Outside of those states, we will seek ESPNU-type disetribution."
"Pay-per-view games will now be in the mix in terms of the selection process between networks on ESPN. We won't get into pricing specifics."
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