ESPN and the SEC announced yesterday that DirecTV has "reached an agreement to carry the soon-to-be-launched SEC Network," according to Scott Rabalais of the Baton Rouge ADVOCATE. DirecTV was "arguably the last significant distribution hurdle for the SEC Network to clear before it launches" on Aug. 14. DirecTV boasts "more than 20 million subscribers," which "puts the network in 87 million households." Verizon FiOS "remains the only significant holdout." EATEL, which provides cable service in areas of Louisiana, also "made an official announcement" yesterday that it will carry the station. EATEL negotiated with ESPN "along with about 800 other regional cable systems through the National Cable Television Cooperative" (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 8/5). BROADCASTING & CABLE's Tim Baysinger wrote the DirecTV deal follows yesterday morning's "carriage pact between ESPN parent Disney and Suddenlink, which included the SEC Network." The deal comes despite DirecTV remaining "without a deal for the Pac-12 Network, as the companies have traded public barbs over the past few years." The satellite provider was "one of the first distributors of the Big Ten Network, which was the first successful channel to focus on a specific college conference." Charter and Verizon are the "last remaining holdouts among major providers." Charter last week said that it was "in the final stages of negotiations while Verizon is in talks with ESPN currently" (BROADCASTINGCABLE.com, 8/4).
POSITION OF POWER: DEADLINE.com's David Bloom wrote DirecTV "might not have had much choice in whether to pass on this particular sports-programming deal: While the SEC’s 14 schools may be a long way from many major TV markets, its corporate parent is ESPN, which has been running interference" for the net. That is "in marked contrast to other regional sports channels, which have signed big rights deals with teams and conferences but don’t have the leverage to get distribution deals done that can justify those fat payouts." SEC Network prior to the DirecTV deal was already "being carried by cable providers passing 75 million homes," enough to put it "at No. 5 among the most lucrative sports outlets." It slots in behind ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 and NFL Network (DEADLINE.com, 8/4).
