Justin Connolly was torn in the moments before the start of the SEC Network’s first live football production.
Connolly, the 38-year-old executive who oversaw the channel’s successful launch, wanted to stay in the production truck to watch how the University of South Carolina’s famed field entrance to the theme to “2001: A Space Odyssey” looked on air.
But he also knew that the field moments before kickoff were the best time for schmoozing. As the executive brought in 18 months ago to be the key decision-maker on everything at the network, Connolly knows that networking with sports industry executives is a big part of the job.
Still, the decision wasn’t easy. Over the past year and a half, Connolly spent countless hours working to make the channel’s launch as smooth as possible, and he certainly wanted to see the fruits of that labor on-screen.
But Connolly downed a bottle of water, grabbed his blue blazer and headed out of the cramped production truck into the oppressive South Carolina summer heat. Wearing tan pants and a button-down shirt, he was on the field in plenty of time to watch the Gamecocks’ entrance and chat with people like University of South Carolina President Harris Pastides and IMG College Chairman and President Ben Sutton.
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SEC Network’s Justin Connolly (left) and the SEC’s Charlie Hussey mix business and tailgating in Auburn, Ala.
Photo by: GRACIE BLACKBURN / ESPN
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He stayed on the field through the first drive — a Texas A&M touchdown — then ventured up into the press box, where he was able to focus more on SEC Network’s production.
Such is life for a network head like Connolly, who had dual roles at the opening of the channel’s college football season — network operations and business development. At the game, Connolly tried to strike a balance between the two. Connolly said his schedule over the next few weeks will take him to every SEC campus. Afterward, he plans to stay in his Charlotte office and focus on the production of SEC football.
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It was interesting to watch Connolly navigate both roles Aug. 28 at Williams-Brice Stadium. In the press box, he consistently checked his iPhone, which received more than 100 texts throughout the game that were a mixture of viewer complaints and industry congratulations. Connolly had an extra battery charger attached to his phone to make sure it didn’t run out of juice.
He stayed in the press box during the first quarter, monitoring social media mentions of SEC Network and reading texts alerting him to viewer gripes from across the country.
As the second quarter began, Connolly went to visit the Gamecocks’ athletic director, Ray Tanner, in his luxury suite on the 20-yard line. The two greeted each other like old friends, and talk quickly turned to SEC Network.
South Carolina’s campus is in the middle of Time Warner Cable territory, and both Tanner and Connolly were hearing lots of complaints from viewers because Time Warner Cable had not yet made SEC Network available on ESPN’s mobile Watch platform.
Texas A&M scored in the middle of their conversation to take a 17-7 lead, but both men stayed upbeat. The amount of email, text messages and tweeted complaints demonstrated the fan fervor behind the channel — the type of fervor that persuaded nine of the country’s 10 biggest distributors to sign long-term carriage deals before the channel produced its first football game.
As they parted, Tanner offered his congratulations on the channel’s launch, in a scene that played out all afternoon for Connolly in the hours before and during the game. For example, more than two hours before kickoff, IMG College’s Sutton walked out of the “SEC Nation” tour bus with WME co-chair Patrick Whitesell and spotted Connolly.
“I am really proud of you,” Sutton said, patting Connolly on the shoulder.
Connolly, though, was itching to watch his network’s programming. Just before the start of its pregame show — a “College GameDay”-style show called “SEC Nation,” Connolly made his way to his channel’s production truck. He stood in the back of the cramped room, just behind ESPN’s senior vice president of college networks, Stephanie Druley, where he watched the show’s first 90 minutes with a critical eye. He wanted some graphics to be bigger; he wanted SEC Network talent to be identified more frequently. But overall, he was pleased.
Connolly spent the second half of the game — a blowout victory for Texas A&M — focusing on the network’s presentation. His focus was on the WatchESPN app streaming to his tablet. ESPN executives were seeing more complaints about the WatchESPN app — it was more than just a Time Warner Cable problem. Subscribers with other distributors took to social media to complain about choppy video.
Connolly set up in the back row of the press box, flanked by SEC consultant Larry Templeton, SEC Assistant Commissioner Charlie Hussey and ESPN’s senior director of SEC programming, Chris Turner.
Connolly’s stream was fine, about 10 seconds behind the action on the field. But he said he already had planned a 10 a.m. meeting for the next day to discuss what went wrong.
John Ourand can be reached at jourand@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ourand_SBJ.
