This August the NCAA Football will be entering a new era in the South Eastern Conference, as they are ready to launch on August 14, 2014 the SEC Network when the various conferences or schools have Channels and are in the World of covering themselves. The rise of these conference or school channels raises the question of whether these school can report the negative new about their school or will the just be more infomercials either of which they are hoping for very lucrative endeavors.
The new SEC Network in its first four weeks will feature all of the 14 SEC teams. This SEC Network is a derived from a four-hour radio show that takes place on a SEC Channel. The real problem that they expect to confront is with the network is the callers, as now for these fans it’s a way of life to criticize and react. However, if the callers go over the line then we just pull the plug.
To start the SEC Network will have three football games each Saturday which will give them leverage with the cable and satellite companies with the Network having very high subscribers’ fees. They will also show other games and other sports events.
This will be a 24/7 channel and how they cover the SEC could be a telling fact in what they highlight and what they don’t. The SEC and ESPN officials have stated that the SEC Network will offer reports and news on unflattering events, but will not be an investigative agency.
The SEC Network officials have said that they will focus on reporting the sporting news and being certain it’s covered properly. They are not a journalism network keyed on investigation and not necessarily there to break stories or go deep into the layers of the stories.
As a SEC Network, when the stories break particularly regarding sports and the SEC we will report the facts and make sure our fans are in the know. We will at the same time solicit comment and feedback from the schools involved and we intend on making it a balanced act of what we present on this network.
The officials of the SEC Network are very clear that for this network to be successful we have to create credibility and authenticity, and if we’re not reporting about a school, a player, a team or a circumstance that is important, in reference to what the goals are of the network. Be assured that they claim they will not shy away from reporting the news whether it is good, bad or ugly.
For this network a lot of the content will come from schools directly, and some have invested a couple of million dollars each on improving their broadcast infrastructure. An example is Auburn whom is spending some 3.5 million dollars for new equipment and a control room.
The SEC Universities are betting that in the long run they will have financial payoffs that will more than double their normal TV revenue. The SEC partner ESPM has set a goal of providing this new SEC Network to some 75 million homes and they are expecting Comcast to add them and that represents another 50 million homes. That exposure should excite those that Bet on College sports and use their Online sportsbooks for betting purposes.