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CBS not renewing its SEC package after 2023


Viper550

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https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/SB-Blogs/Breaking-News/2019/12/SEC.aspx

 

Big shocker from the college football world; wanting to "aggressively focus on other important strategic priorities moving forward" (likely renewing the NFL contract, among other things).

 

CBS had made a bit of $300 million just for the flagship Saturday afternoon package, which will more than likely be conglomerated into ESPN's slurry of a portfolio...

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This is a HUGE blow for the fans and southeast CBS affiliates. What CBS provided versus ESPN/ABC is continuity of coverage. You knew what time the game was, you knew the announcing crew, the production was top notch, and it was always touted as a big game. I am not surprised as others mainly because when CBS signed their current deal about 12 (?) years ago they only paid $55 million a year and when the conference expanded to add Texas A&M and Missouri in 2012 the SEC asked CBS to increase their share per year and CBS said no. We know WGCL and WIAT are not CBS's strongest affiliates but I'm sure they still banked off of those SEC games. Those smaller affiliates like WMAZ, WAFB, WKRG, WGFL, WRBL, and WAKA are going to really suffer on Fall Saturdays after 2023. CBS is in a tough position, pay out the nose for 15 games a year of College Football that only benefits their southeastern affiliates ( no O&Os, WFOR is ACC territory and doesn't count) or pay big bucks to keep the NFL and prevent your overall ratings from tanking like in 1994 and another New World deal but it would be highly unlikely in today's TV landscape. 

 

Me being anti-ESPN monopoly hopes Fox jumps in and steals the SEC but I don't see it happening with ESPN owning the SEC Network. If ESPN/ABC takes the SEC, I see 3:30 being the exclusive window for the top SEC game on ABC, with other conferences being relegated to ESPN channels at that time and SEC has the majority of primetime games at 8pm. I then see Fox taking the Big Ten exclusively in 2024 and keeping all games on Fox, FS1, and BTN while still keeping tier 2 Big 12 and Pac 12 rights. I think CBS is done with everything but Army/Navy and the Sun Bowl. I'm actually surprised another network hasn't tried to outbid ESPN for the Citrus, Outback, or Gator Bowls since they all involve the SEC and Big Ten, the two biggest conferences right now.

 

IMO, the main reason why CBS went back into college football in 1996 was that their network was suffering without the NFL, they lost big affiliates to Fox, and they needed programming so they grabbed the Bowl Alliance games and then since all TV deals went to the conferences after the CFA dissolved they got what ABC didn't have spoken for, Big East and SEC (Championship Game was separate deal then). CBS has just maintained status quo with the SEC. But the conference's dominance in College Football has pushed for more money. Had CBS never lost the NFC in 1994 I don't think College Football would ever be on CBS again except the Sun Bowl.

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The winners are probably the few relatively strong ABC affiliates in the Southeast (WSB of course, but also stations like KATC, WBRZ, WAPT, WLOX, WJBF and WTVM, plus tiny market WBBJ, WTOK, WABG and KAIT). In most other SEC region markets, ABC has a weak or subchannel affiliate. I wonder if there will be some switching going on?

 

Alabama is the most extreme case: there are NO strong ABC affiliates in the state. The Iron Bowl would be on very weak stations.

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8 minutes ago, Georgie56 said:

CBSSN broadcasts CFB from the Mountain West, Conference USA, the American Athletic Conference, the MAC, and Army and Navy games.

 

Maybe some of those rights will move to CBS after 2023?

They might have to or CBS will not nothing on Saturdays as their Golf coverage ends when football starts.

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I think a couple of factors are in play here.

 

First: The tide is turning on paying college athletes. A form of it will likely be a reality by 2023. CBS may be seeing the writing on the wall and expecting the next contract to be cost-prohibitive with that in mind. I could definitely see this happen with college basketball as well--WarnerMedia might just keep it all to themselves.

 

Second: This means they're all in on the NFL, and this is likely part of building a war chest against a currently very lean and very rich New FOX.

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Market sizes of SEC schools' home markets: 10 (fringe), 28, 44, 51 (fringe), 61, 64, 75, 82, 94, 101, 122, 133, 137 and 156.

 

Adjacent market sizes with significant fan base: 18 (partial), 38 (partial), 41, 50, 57, 58, 73 (partial), 78, 84, 86, 89, 91, 92, 95, 97, 99, 108, 109, 114, 119, 123, 130, 140, 143, 149, 153, 154, 155, 167, 170, 171, 176, 177, 178, 183, 190 and 194.

 

It's easy to see why this doesn't make sense from a national perspective, even if it is HUGE for CBS affiliates in the Southeast. Very few top-50 markets are involved and the largest are the most ambivalent towards the SEC anyway. Atlanta and Nashville are the only top-30 markets that really do well with the SEC and the only other top-50 markets are Jacksonville, Birmingham and New Orleans and the split Upstate SC market (competes with Clemson/ACC).

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5 minutes ago, GoldenShine9 said:

Market sizes of SEC schools' home markets: 10 (fringe), 28 (weakest SEC school), 44, 51 (fringe), 61, 64, 75, 82, 94, 101, 122, 133, 137 and 156.

 

Adjacent market sizes with significant fan base: 38 (partial), 41, 50, 57, 58, 73 (partial), 78, 84, 86, 89, 91, 92, 95, 97, 99, 108, 114, 119, 123, 130, 140, 143, 149, 153, 154, 155, 167, 170, 171, 176, 177, 178, 183, 190 and 194.

 

It's easy to see why this doesn't make sense from a national perspective, even if it is HUGE for CBS affiliates in the Southeast.

You might want to count market #18 (Orlando) as Marion County which borders Alachua (Gainesville) is adjacent to UF. And WCJB (ABC) will come out a big winner being the original station in Gainesville. 

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3 minutes ago, jerseyfla said:

You might want to count market #18 (Orlando) as Marion County which borders Alachua (Gainesville) is adjacent to UF. 

 

Yeah, maybe in part, although SEC (and general college) football really drops off once you get past Gainesville. I also forgot Tallahassee, it is an ACC market but SEC is also big there.

 

A few aren't even directly adjacent to any SEC markets (i.e. Monroe, LA) but are clearly in SEC country.

One wild thinking: if an affiliate group wanted to play hardball, could they try to pony up the money themselves and give cable the big middle finger?

 

I know Gray has Raycom Sports leftovers but can they afford the rights? They'd have near-full coverage of the region too (either through their own stations or partnerships they could easily make to get into non-Gray markets such as Atlanta, Nashville, Mobile and Macon).

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The College Football Playoff contract ends in 2025. It's a little forward-looking, but CBS could go for it in the future

 

In terms of power 5 conferences, I'm pretty sure every one of them is locked up in some way for the long haul. The Pac-12 conference contract is up in 2024, but they've been struggling.

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3 hours ago, GoldenShine9 said:

 

Yeah, maybe in part, although SEC (and general college) football really drops off once you get past Gainesville. I also forgot Tallahassee, it is an ACC market but SEC is also big there.

 

A few aren't even directly adjacent to any SEC markets (i.e. Monroe, LA) but are clearly in SEC country.

One wild thinking: if an affiliate group wanted to play hardball, could they try to pony up the money themselves and give cable the big middle finger?

 

I know Gray has Raycom Sports leftovers but can they afford the rights? They'd have near-full coverage of the region too (either through their own stations or partnerships they could easily make to get into non-Gray markets such as Atlanta, Nashville, Mobile and Macon).

 

Couldn't Gray make money by syndicating the SEC package beyond the stations they own? I'm sure plenty of CBS affiliates - and indie/CW outlets in markets where CBS owns stations and might not let those outlets clear the package - would love to have it.

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11 minutes ago, channel2 said:

 

Couldn't Gray make money by syndicating the SEC package beyond the stations they own? I'm sure plenty of CBS affiliates - and indie/CW outlets in markets where CBS owns stations and might not let those outlets clear the package - would love to have it.

As much as I would love for the old Jefferson Pilot days to come back, they really do not have the resources that the conferences that they were aligned with prior (ACC/SEC) want. Part of the ACC Network contract is the colleges to do a lot of the production themselves and just have ESPN manage it and ESPN is paying a pretty penny for those two linear networks plus the streaming rights. I know ESPN did not like the fact that for years RAYCOM got FIRST rights to a lot of the ACC conference games in Basketball and had to technically simulcast the Raycom broadcast outside of announcers during the ACC Basketball tournament. So, I will say that ESPN had a big hand in swaying the ACC to go pretty much go away from syndication

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12 hours ago, GoldenShine9 said:

Could NBC try to make a play and steal it? I know they have the Notre Dame games but that is it. 

 

I'm sorry. but the time has come and gone for NBC to be a "one team" network.  Let ESPN have Notre Dame games (and they could be sucked entirely into the ACC by then)....  WNDU is no longer owned by the University and aside from 2012, the team has been anything but championship material in recent years.

 

Losing the SEC games in 2023 is another blow to college sports on broadcast television.  One that ESPN should not benefit from because of their existing dominance and near-monopoly of the conferences.

 

Now if NBC somehow lands the deal, they have stronger affiliates in most places within SEC teams.  Alabama has much stronger NBC affiliates (aside from Mobile, Dothan and parts of Auburn) but has WSFA which covers much of the state and bleeds pretty well into Auburn itself.

 

Other places of potential dominance include Columbia, SC (WIS), Columbia, MO (KOMU), Tupelo, MS (WTVA) and Knoxville (WBIR).

 

I'd be OK with ABC if they had a similar deal with CBS regarding SEC games, and ensuring that top matchups air on ABC.

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I think the one network to watch that could replace CBS as one of the TV partners for the SEC would be Fox (and I should mention that in a similar report to this one, that Fox might make a bid for the CBS portion of the package.

 

Sure they'll have the weaker stations like WCOV and WTNZ but they'll have the stronger stations like WBRC, and WAGA 

 

Speaking of Atlanta, doesn't the DMA cover Athens, GA (which is where the University of Georgia is at)?

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31 minutes ago, oknewsguy said:

I think the one network to watch that could replace CBS as one of the TV partners for the SEC would be Fox (and I should mention that in a similar report to this one, that Fox might make a bid for the CBS portion of the package.

 

Sure they'll have the weaker stations like WCOV and WTNZ but they'll have the stronger stations like WBRC, and WAGA 

 

Speaking of Atlanta, doesn't the DMA cover Athens, GA (which is where the University of Georgia is at)?

 

Correct, although Athens is on the fringe of the market.

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1 hour ago, tyrannical bastard said:

 

I'm sorry. but the time has come and gone for NBC to be a "one team" network.  Let ESPN have Notre Dame games (and they could be sucked entirely into the ACC by then)....  WNDU is no longer owned by the University and aside from 2012, the team has been anything but championship material in recent years.

I'd be curious to see what kind of ratings NBC pulls in by being the exclusive home of Notre Dame football. They one of the biggest fan bases in the sport in spite of their competitive obsolescence. If they still get good numbers, it could be a bargain to keep it, especially considering their mediocrity on the field could drive down the price of a renewed deal. They could even combine the two deals, Notre Dame game in the daytime, the SEC in primetime; though that could complicate things for SNL. Imagine Alec Baldwin having to stay in his Trump makeup for an extra hour because Auburn and Georgia are in quadruple overtime.

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13 hours ago, oknewsguy said:

I think the one network to watch that could replace CBS as one of the TV partners for the SEC would be Fox (and I should mention that in a similar report to this one, that Fox might make a bid for the CBS portion of the package.

 

Sure they'll have the weaker stations like WCOV and WTNZ but they'll have the stronger stations like WBRC, and WAGA 

 

Speaking of Atlanta, doesn't the DMA cover Athens, GA (which is where the University of Georgia is at)?

I would love to see Fox get the contract and drop their Big 12 and Pac-12 contracts when they expire. They would have the two largest conferences in SEC and B1G. They have a strong affiliate in Birmingham along with their O&Os in Atlanta, Gainesville, Orlando, Tampa (both markets have rural counties that border Gainesville to the south), and Houston. And maybe they make a play for one of the early New Year’s Day bowls like the Outback or Citrus Bowl. 
 

But like I said the reality will be Disney ponies up more money due to their commitment running the SEC Network.  

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This could be a longshot, but Sinclair could possibly throw in for the rights, between their ownership of the former Fox Sports RSNs and stations in the southeast....

 

I doubt it would try and pre-empt any network efforts, but it would be a major coup for their secondary stations...

 

13 hours ago, TheOneManHerd said:

 ...that could complicate things for SNL. Imagine Alec Baldwin having to stay in his Trump makeup for an extra hour because Auburn and Georgia are in quadruple overtime.

 

They did it for the XFL years ago.  Although SEC football is much more popular and way more established than the XFL, which barely lasted one season.

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