Nobody ever went broke underestimating the craziness of the SEC football fan.

And how crazy is that?  Well, put it this way

The majority of the SEC Network’s carriage deals aren’t expected to come up for renewal soon, but ESPN declined to provide terms of the contract except to say they were long-term. If the network can continue to prove its worth, Nelson doesn’t think it’s outlandish for the SEC’s in-market subscriber fee to jump from $1.30/$1.40 to $2.00 or $3.00. A jump of that magnitude could give the network more than a billion dollars annually on simply subscriber fees.

“I would have said it was crazy two years ago,” Nelson said. “But when they were so successful at $1.30, I’m sure they are thinking big.”

If 30 some-odd million subscribers are willing to pony up three bucks a month for the privilege of having Finebaum and Phyllis from Mulga drop into their dens five days a week, that’s crazy enough for me.

12 Comments

Filed under ESPN Is The Devil, SEC Football

12 responses to “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the craziness of the SEC football fan.

  1. heyberto

    For me, it’s only about being able to see Georgia play. And yes, for that is pay a few bucks more per month

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  2. TnDawg

    Don’t forget Tammie!

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  3. Gaskilldawg

    SEC men’s basketball and the few UGA games on the SEC network are thd only things that make it worthwhile to me. The network is thd best source for watching SEC basketball games.

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  4. JCDAWG83

    I probably don’t watch 12 hours a year of the SEC network, but it’s worth $2 a month for the few Georgia events I watch. It’s probably not worth much more than that to me.

    I have never watched any of the talking head shows. Sports talk shows are some of the stupidest things on tv in my opinion, they are right there with the Kardashians and the other reality tv.

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  5. Macallanlover

    I watch the live CFB games, and a few reruns of older games only. Nothing else. But I would pay much more than that proposed increase and call it a bargain. I don’t find that “craziness” at all. If I only watched the 2-3 games they carry of UGA a year, it is a huge savings over what I paid for pay-per-view in the past for the same thing and I get other SEC games thrown in every week of the season. Even the weak SEC games on at noon and four every Saturday are often better than what ESPN, ABC, and Fox Sports offer in those slot, especially the noon games.

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  6. Michael

    Clay Travis just had a sexytime explosion in his pants.

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  7. I never called Charter to order the SEC Network…it just showed up.

    But what did happen, several months later, is that several other channels became inactive (e.g. DIY Network and the second Food network channel).

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  8. Gravidy

    My attitude toward the SEC Network is similar to those above. My DirecTV bill is crazy high, but it didn’t go up any at all when I started receiving the SEC Network. As BD said, it just showed up. And just like ESPN, I never watch any of the talking head stuff. I only watch games. I would say most months pass with me never tuning in at all.

    Having said that, I’d gladly pay $15-$20 per year to see the games that interest me. If that makes me crazy, then so be it.

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  9. Big Shock

    I’d definitely pay $3/mo. From Bozeman, MT, I saw every game that UGA played last year. The SEC network has been a great addition to my cable package. I have no idea how the rest of the state feels, but I really appreciate them supplementing my costs.

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  10. Sanford222view

    I can’t reveal how but tomorrow I can tell you exactly how long the carriage deal is for many providers and the rates for each year. For many providers the Disney/ESPN agreement renewed last August. SEC Network was a required add if you were a provider in the SEC footprint and the per subscriber rate was about 3.5 times higher than for providers outside the SEC footprint.

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