SEC Network To Be In At Least 26 Million Homes At Launch

Whatever concerns you may have had as an SEC fan about watching your team’s games on the SEC Network, it would appear those fears can come down a couple of notches. ESPN has announced they have a deal with Cox Communication to carry the SEC Network. Cox is in five states in the SEC footprint.

From SEC Commissioner Mike Slive:

"“The addition of Cox is another very important step in the development of the SEC Network, bringing millions more viewers nationwide to the network when it launches on August 14.  As one of the largest cable television distributors in the U.S., including five states in the SEC footprint, this agreement with Cox has a significant impact on exposure for the SEC.”"

The SEC still has a little more than a month to add a few more cable distributors for their network before their launch date. They already have Dish Network, Google Fiber, and AT&T U-Verse signed up in addition to some smaller carries. In sum the network will be in at least 26 million homes by the time they launch, a number one would think will grow by August 14.

How does that number stack up to when the Big Ten launched their network?

There are a bunch of different variables to consider with the Big Ten launch, but it does show what kind of progress the SEC has been able to make to get their network in as many homes as possible. This is key since the SEC plans to show 45 football games via the network this season, and deity forbid SEC fans miss a single second of football because of a lack of an agreement with a cable company.