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SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, ESPN president discuss network’s new media deal with conference
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
As Disney prepares to launch a 10-year contract with the SEC in 2024—meaning a long association with CBS will come to an end—it’s evident that the way the conference’s fans have watched their favorite teams is set to change.
And it’s not limited to its popular college football game of the week, which is set to move to ABC: ESPN+, the company’s OTT sports network, will stream as many as 14 non-conference football games and as many as 20 non-conference basketball games per year. And there’s potentially set to be further enhancements to coverage on the SEC Network, as well.
The cornerstone of the deal is the Saturday afternoon game of the week. Under the current media deal, CBS had the first choice of which game it would broadcast, with ABC/ESPN left to broadcast the remainder on its over-the-air and linear channels. Now, with the conference’s rights set to rest exclusively with Disney, more options exist—including flexing games from the traditional 3:30 slot to primetime.
“A key factor contributing to our desire to get this done was scheduling flexibility and the ability to air key conference matchups on ABC or ESPN or both,” ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro told Sports Illustrated.
That also means the potential for many game times to be determined far in advance, said SEC commissioner Greg Sankey.
“We anticipate during the summer the ability to project out more than half of our kickoff times,” he stated. “Even when we don’t have certainty, we have some window assignments. We narrow the range. We might move from 2:30 p.m. to 11 a.m. [CT] or 2:30 to 6 p.m., but it will stay in that range.
One big point of emphasis: the iconic SEC on CBS theme, with early reports suggesting that it will not make the move under the new contract. However. Pitaro vowed that Disney would feature its own spin on CBS’s longtime coverage.
“That presentation will be distinctive and special,” Pitaro said. “We have all hands on deck right now looking at this.”
While the deal is set to begin in 4 years’ time, there’s been some speculation that Disney could look to buy out the remaining part of CBS’s contract, but Sankey suggested otherwise.
“Our focus is on fulfilling our relationship with CBS and looking forward to our future with ESPN and ABC,” he said.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
