ESPN Announces First Set of SEC Football Games to Air on ABC – Sports Illustrated

SEC football is going to look at lot different this season.
For nearly 30 years, the conference’s marquee games were broadcast on CBS. Starting this year, though, the conference has a new television deal with ESPN that will move the biggest games of the week to ABC.
ESPN announced Wednesday at Disney’s annual Upfront presentation for advertisers the first set of games that have been chosen to air on ABC. Those games are as follows:
ESPN will announce the rest of its broadcast schedule for the first three weeks of the college football season on May 30.
CBS first broadcast SEC football in 1996, and the weekly game at 3:30 p.m. ET with the network's iconic intro theme became an indelible part of the sport. But that partnership came to an end when the SEC agreed in 2020 to a 10-year broadcast deal with ESPN that would begin with the 2024 season. The deal is worth $300 million annually (for a total of $3 billion over the length of the contract), which is more than five times the $55 million annual value of the previous deal with CBS.
Fans will still get to watch college football on CBS in the 3:30 window, though. It’s just that the network will trade the sun-soaked stadiums of the SEC for the gray skies of the Big Ten.
DAN GARTLAND
Dan Gartland writes Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, and is SI’s pro wrestling editor. Dan holds a degree in Communications and Media Studies from Fordham University.
Follow Dan_Gartland
© 2024 ABG-SI LLC. – SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC. – All Rights Reserved. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. All betting content is intended for an audience ages 21+. All advice, including picks and predictions, is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Minute Media or its related brands. All picks and predictions are suggestions only. No one should expect to make money from the picks and predictions discussed on this website. For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. Gambling content intended for 21+. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER.

source