Univ. of Georgia President Michael Adams is “in favor of the idea” of exploring launching an SEC network and thinks the conference channel “might be past due,” according to Tim Tucker of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Adams said, “We’re strong enough in the marketplace that I have long advocated for an arrangement (in which) we look for a media partner where we would own at least 51 percent of the deal and create a network. I raised that issue when we did the last TV deal (in 2008), but I was a minority view at the time.” The possibility of an SEC cable network by ‘14 is “on the table in the ongoing renegotiation of the league’s TV contracts with CBS and ESPN.” Florida President and SEC BOD Chair Bernie Machen said, “We (the SEC) sort of broke ground on major media contracts, and I think the others have followed along and actually moved the ball a little bit further.” Univ. of South Carolina President Harris Pastides said that a league net “could benefit the SEC schools financially and could provide popular programming for viewers, but he raised a potential peril.” Pastides: “Overexposure, maybe. I don’t think any of us would claim that our universities aren’t seen enough now.” Tucker notes an SEC network “would not carry the league’s top-tier football and basketball games, which would remain on CBS and ESPN.” But lower-profile matchups in those sports, as well as “a multitude of live events in other sports, historical events from the league’s archives and auxiliary programming such as studio shows, could provide ample inventory for a 24/7 network” (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 6/6).
