SEC Network, Missouri-Texas A&M Expansion Impact on Future Realignment

Sports Business Daily reported on Monday that the Southeastern Conference’s on-going negotiations with ESPN and CBS are likely to include an SEC Network. Considering the Big Ten Network’s success and the lucrative package the Pac-12 formulated with its own network a central piece, a hypothetical SEC Network was an obvious endgame.

Edited: Jon Wilner reports that the Pac-12’s projection is actually more positive than previously anticipated.

Now, the question is less the what and more the how. The nuts and bolts of formulating a SEC channel pose challenges. Jason Kirk discussed the conference’s negotiations on SB Nation, addressing an important facet of the new deal as it pertains to the SEC’s recent expansion.

"CBS, which gets the SEC’s best games (its Tier 1 games), may feel it has little reason to pay very much more for the additions of Texas A&M and Missouri since SEC games already do well enough in those markets, or what have you. CBS is already carried nationwide, so there’s no way to expand its footprint, only its ratings in places where it already is."

Driving conference expansion is money. Period. Missouri and Texas A&M came to the SEC to make it that much more appealing for broadcasters, but their seemingly low impact raises a red flag amid a tumultuous landscape. Expansion may not be the golden ticket to astronomical contracts it appeared to be. Sure, there are instances when it is significant, if not vital. The ACC’s deal increased as a result of its expansion. Perhaps this recent tidbit will slow some of the rumor mongering and chatter prevalent currently.

That said, an SEC Network would give the conference an expensive chip at the proverbial poker table with CBS. Using the Big Ten Network as a blueprint, we have seen it thrive as a joint partnership between a league and media rights holder, News Corp. CBS has dipped its toe into the cable game with its own network. The company’s cable presence could benefit exponentially from a partnership with the SEC. The quality product it has to offer gives the SEC leverage. The benefits are mutual, as it would strengthen an already iconic partnersip.

Details of the SEC Network and the conference’s new deal will continue to surface over the coming weeks. Stay tuned.