aubiefifty 16,695 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 SEC leaving CBS after 2023 as negotiations end Updated Dec 20, 2019;Posted Dec 20, 2019 4-5 minutes Alabama Football Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson of SEC on CBS. The SEC on CBS has an expiration date. CBS owns the rights until 2023 but officially pulled out of the running to extend those rights for the most desired college sports television package. CBS made an aggressive bid in the neighborhood of $300 million annually, a massive increase from the current $55 million per year it pays, but it became clear it wasn’t going to be enough as Disney/ESPN pushed hard to bring all of the SEC football rights under its umbrella. “We made a strong and responsible bid,” CBS Sports said in a statement provided to AL.com. “While we’ve had success with the SEC on CBS, we are instead choosing to aggressively focus on other important strategic priorities moving forward.” Sports Business Journal first reported the news that CBS was walking away from the negotiations and ABC/ESPN was the expected winner of the rights. CBS made it clear to SEC officials it wanted to get a deal done before the end of 2019, according to AL.com sources, as it wanted to secure the rights before what is expected to be an aggressive bidding war for its NFL package which expires in 2022. CBS has recently been active in spending on sports TV rights, adding UEFA Champions League rights, keeping its PGA Tour package and making a substantial bid to keep the SEC. AL.com reported in November that Disney/ESPN was expected to be CBS’ biggest competition and landing the lucrative SEC TV rights was a major priority. ESPN was already heavily invested in the SEC with the SEC Network but really wanted to add the SEC Championship and the scheduling flexibility that comes with owning all of the rights. Disney/ESPN pitched it could help the SEC if it had all its rights and better maximize exposure if it didn’t have to deal with CBS’ 3:30 EST game window. AL.com also first reported that CAA agent Nick Khan, who along with Alan Gold had been hired to guide the SEC through the negotiations, advised SEC leaders of the advantages of aligning closer with a growing Disney company that is excelling with its over the top platforms (ESPN+ and Disney+) and has the money to make big purchases. SBJ reported that Disney/ESPN is expected to pay at least six times more than the current fees which would put it at $330 million and lead to an extra $22 million per year per school. One TV insider told AL.com it could actually easily end up being $400 million or more when all is said and done. Letting CBS walk away from negotiations marks a significant departure in strategy from the SEC. The league willingly accepted less than it could have gotten the last time these rights were up in order to stay with CBS because then-commissioner Mike Slive liked the national platform the network gave the SEC. The $55 million per year was a steal for CBS but the partnership was certainly mutually beneficial as it helped the league build its brand and led to massive television ratings. There was a feeling around the TV industry that Slive’s successor, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, might keep a similar arrangement to give the SEC multiple national platforms in CBS and ABC/ESPN. In an interview with AL.com last month, Sankey stated he was taking a long-term view and mentioned presentation, level of exposure and revenue as factors when weighing the SEC’s options. FOX had also expressed serious interest in the rights if the SEC wanted a different two company arrangement. Instead, SEC now appears ready to go all-in with a single media conglomerate. John Talty is the SEC Insider for Alabama Media Group. You can follow him on Twitter @JTalty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
api1957 1,783 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 Bring us Pat McAfee!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigerpro2a 5,650 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 Best news all day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boisnumber1 2,817 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 Glad to see CBS go, but would rather have a second option like Fox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwagoner 214 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 As many commercials as they run, I’d hate to see how many breaks there were if their $55 mil went to $300 mil. I would also think there would be a significant dollar value to the clause “remove Danielson from anything SEC related.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully to Beasley 643 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 Wait...what is Gary going to do when he can't verbally gush with love for all things bammer on national TV every Saturday during the fall???????????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randman5000 4,223 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 Woooooooooo!!! War eagle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boisnumber1 2,817 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 33 minutes ago, Sully to Beasley said: Wait...what is Gary going to do when he can't verbally gush with love for all things bammer on national TV every Saturday during the fall???????????????? To put it bluntly...WHO CARES?!! 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auburn2Eugene 2,317 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 1 hour ago, kwagoner said: “remove Danielson from anything SEC related.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronMan70 3,277 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 Four more football seasons with those boneheads ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auburn2Eugene 2,317 Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 1 hour ago, IronMan70 said: Four more football seasons with those boneheads ? Not necessarily. It says that whoever wins the next bid very well could buy out the rights from CBS. This COULD be the last season. Next season COULD be the last. It will just definitely be off CBS after 2023. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedaler 1,000 Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 If only they could have pulled it with Verne and Gary... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
api1957 1,783 Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 Breaking News: Gary Danielson agrees to deal with ESPN. 😆😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomcat 569 Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 More commercials and a big increase in cable and satellite service rates.....as always the fans foot the bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auburn4ever 1,266 Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 Anytime the Iron Bowl is on CBS, I know Gary and Brad will their very best to brag on bammer though out game. I turn down their voice and listen to Stan and now Andy. I miss hearing Jim and later Rod call the games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AU64 10,122 Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 Hate to put so much control with ESPN....pretty soon we will be playing Thursday and Friday night games to fit their schedule. Likely if ESPN has more games to televise they will need more announcers....and where better to get them than CBS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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