The SEC won't release a clear picture of the TV time slots and regional networks involved until SEC Media Days in July, but the Birmingham News is starting to fill in the gaps. The biggest thing...understanding the TV pecking order for football. (Image: AL.com. Click to enlarge for a readable version). It goes like this:1. CBS - First pick of the best game every week. CBS gets two double headers which will be Oct. 10th and the Thanksgiving weekend in 2009. The selection order for one of the double headers isn't as cut and dried as CBS gets first pick. But that's basically it.
2. ESPN/ESPN 2 - As you can see in the graphic above, they will average almost two games per week between the two networks. No time slots are announced yet.
3. ESPNU/ESPN Classic - Typically one game per week, and it will most likely be a night game per prior announcements. ESPNU has recently reached agreements with Comcast and other providers so you should be getting it soon. ESPNU is available in HD, but who knows if Comcast will provide it immediately.
4. ESPN Regional - This is not a network. It's a syndication company that signs deals with third parties to televise the rest of the SEC football and basketball games not shown by options 1-3. So far ESPN Regional has lined up CSS TV (available to Comcast and Charter clients) for six football and 20 basketball games per year. According to the B'ham news above, they are also in discussions with Fox Sports South for an additional package of games. Lastly, ESPN Regional works with local TV stations inside and outside of the SEC geographic footprint for TV distribution deals. According to the AJC, they have selected Peachtree TV as their partner in Atlanta.
2. ESPN/ESPN 2 - As you can see in the graphic above, they will average almost two games per week between the two networks. No time slots are announced yet.
3. ESPNU/ESPN Classic - Typically one game per week, and it will most likely be a night game per prior announcements. ESPNU has recently reached agreements with Comcast and other providers so you should be getting it soon. ESPNU is available in HD, but who knows if Comcast will provide it immediately.
4. ESPN Regional - This is not a network. It's a syndication company that signs deals with third parties to televise the rest of the SEC football and basketball games not shown by options 1-3. So far ESPN Regional has lined up CSS TV (available to Comcast and Charter clients) for six football and 20 basketball games per year. According to the B'ham news above, they are also in discussions with Fox Sports South for an additional package of games. Lastly, ESPN Regional works with local TV stations inside and outside of the SEC geographic footprint for TV distribution deals. According to the AJC, they have selected Peachtree TV as their partner in Atlanta.
Peachtree TV is best know as the home of the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta Comcast subscribers can find Peachtree TV in HD on Channel 802.
It's good news all around.
PWD
PS - Sorry for the lack of posting. Things have been insane at work, but I still have a real job so it can't be that bad.
23 comments:
I have Dish Network and am trying to figure out if I'll get all the games. I already have ESPN U, but do not have CSS or Peachtree TV. I just emailed them about getting those channels by fall. I live in Nashville, TN and if they don't I hate it, but I will go back to cable.
is peachtree tv on direct?
I have Peachtree TV on DirecTV, but I live in Alpharetta. It is included as a local channel if you get the Atlanta local stations.
Will the games on Peachtree TV be the same as those on CSS, or will they be different? I'm concerned since I don't get CSS on DirecTV.
For the regional network games you may not get on your TV, don't forget about ESPN360 if your internet provider allows you to access it.
I am on Dish Network and don't get CSS or ESPNU, but I have AT&T internet and can get ESPN360.
Also, you never know what http://www.channelsurfing.net/ might be showing. Again, I don't get the U on TV, but I watched the UGA/OSU game on ESPNU via http://www.channelsurfing.net/ the other day.
I still can't figure out how that site gets away with showing those games.
Living in Nashville, you won't get Peachtree TV on cable, either. But your cable provider likely will find a home for it somewhere; think the stations that usually show reruns of Seinfeld and The Simpsons.
ESPN Regional is basically just JP/Raycom/Lincoln Financial in nicer clothes.
Any word on whether they've hired the three Daves?
Peachtree TV is an Atlanta station.
If you live in Nashville, you've got some other local TV station that would pick up the ESPN Regional Deal. Like Opryland TV or Batman Building TV. Whatever the hell you guys call the local independent over the air station.
If you have the *any* cable or satellite provider other than Comcast or Charter, I'm extremely doubtful that you'll get the CSS games. Why would Comcast (which owns CSS) air its proprietary network on The Dish?
The games on CSS will be different than the games on P-tree TV.
Actually Comcast Cable has several sports channels on Dish Network, just not Comcast Sports Southeast. I don't kow if each regional channel negotiates it's own deals or what.
I hate it when they put games on CSS. Anybody not subscribing to Charter/Comcast (or living in the regional broadcast area for that matter) has no way of seeing it.
I bet they figure something out so that satellite customers get the CSS games. Comcast has a Maryland/Baltimore channel that's on DirecTV, I know, so I'm not too terribly concerned.
And, it's possible that those CSS games might be GamePlan games for satellite users. Or not. I have no idea.
I do know this: I doubt any away games Georgia plays in are falling all the way to CSS. Maybe Tennessee Tech or something, but I go to the homegames, so no biggie.
I hate that stupid Peachtree steetsign logo at the bottom of the screen. z
OK, so living in Roanoke, VA...if I had to pay for some of the games in year's past (ly-KY, Aub, etc) via ESPN single game plan, I'll have to do the same again this year, correct? Since I won't get the ESPN regional games and I'm through Cox?
Everyone go ahead and start saving those pennies now. This is going to turn into a huge cost for SEC fans in markets outside of Atlanta. Gameplan, pay-per-view, and now this CSS crap. Eventually all games will be pay-per-view, or we will have to purchase the "College Football Package" to watch our team. Corporations are ruining college football! Money is the root of all evil! Screw you ESPN!!!!
Cooper,
You couldn't possibly be more wrong.
A. Money is the root of all awesome.
B. Dude...the deal puts more games on FREE TV than have ever been on FREE TV in the history of the known universe.
C. The TV footprint for the 12:30 games that were previously on TV with JP/LF/Raycom is now DRAMATICALLY larger with ESPN. The B'Ham news article specifically says that ESPN is talking to TV stations in Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Houston and Columbus, Ohio about airing SEC games on REGULAR TV for free.
What sucks isn't ESPN's participation in this deal. It's people that can't read.
Money is awesome. It buys shiny stuff and stuff that tastes good.
If you want more free football, you should watch Div III games in person.
PWD
Agree with PWD and LOVE the response.
This is GOOD.
Anybody have any idea if Knology will pick up ESPNU?
Last year, they carried the Peachtree TV Braves broadcasts in Augusta, but dropped them this season.
Have their bundle, and would hate switching to Comcast.
Just curious, but what do you do when your not posting on your blog? You don't have to tell me (us) who you work for, but just what you do for a living.
Which station is Peachtree TV? Is that what happened to WATL 36? I guess I need to practice aiming the antennae now.
"What sucks isn't ESPN's participation in this deal. It's people that can't read."
No, what sucks is that broadcast TV will now be airing 3rd string games that weren't previously televised instead of the 2nd tier games that will now be strictly on an ESPN network. Yeah, there will be more games broadcast but forgive me if I'm not that excited about only being able to see the CBS game(s) and 3rd tier games like Vandy vs. Sam Houston State on broadcast TV.
As far as ESPN360, if ESPN would adopt a sane model of online viewing model instead of this model that not only makes the ISP front the bandwidth and servers but also makes them pay for the privilege then maybe more than 4 or 5 ISPs would be signed up for it. As it stands, we're not getting that in Windstream land any time soon.
So for the folks who think TV stations make enough in advertising to not need to pay a monthly fee on top of that, this IS a loss even if the Ole Miss homecoming game will now be televised.
WATL-TV is still around, but they lost what was the Jeff-Pilot/Raycom/Lincoln-financial package to Peachtree TV. I think they'll still have ACC basketball in the winter.
Peachtree TV is what used to be WTBS in Atlanta - the TBS local station. Since TBS is a national cable channel, they split off the channel 17 over-the-air local last year, It's in the same location on the dial it always was, and it's still owned and operated by Turner Broadcasting. They'll have the games this fall in HD.
Since ESPN got all the remaining rights after the CBS selection, they put Raycom out of the SEC business. The package will be very similar to the teams Raycom had before, as PWD detailed above.
Wah! Wah! Wah!...
give some folks a million dollars and they complain that its not in the right denominations.
Please, oh please, don't hire Dave Neal or any member of the anti-UGA Neal family.
thanks for the TV football schedule. I am a huge UGA fan, and I would never want to miss a game! I heard Herschel Walker will be on the radio today at 4:10 on WQXI in Atlanta...can't wait to see what he has to say! GO DAWGS!
Here's an update from today's AJC. I'm guessing the pecking order for SEC football games is: CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, Jefferson Pilot (or are they still in the picture?), then FSN for all the games that remain.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/uga/seven-sec-football-games-92286.html
Opryland is ruined now.
Post a Comment