- The ESPN family of networks will air over 400 college football games during the upcoming season. ABC begins its Saturday Night Football coverage with Alabama/Virginia Tech on September 5. Meanwhile, ESPN will open its coverage with South Carolina/N.C. State and Oregon/Boise State on Thursday, September 3. ESPN will start its bowl coverage on December 19, with the New Mexico Bowl (4:30 PM) and St. Petersburg Bowl (8 PM). ABC will air three bowl games, including its last Rose Bowl (January 1) and the BCS National Championship Game (January 7).
- ESPN Regional Television and the SEC have announced the creation of the SEC Network syndication package. The SEC Network will air in 73 markets, including non-SEC markets such as New York, Pittsburgh and Detroit, and will feature an SEC football “Game of the Week” for 13 straight weeks starting September 5. During basketball season, the SEC Network will air games on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, including coverage of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament. Within the SEC’s nine-state footprint, SEC Network telecasts will be available on over-the-air local affiliates.
- The ACC, Big 12 and Pac-10 are “[looking] into the feasibility” of creating a new channel that would “combine the programming of two conferences,” reports the Sports Business Journal. It is unknown which one of the three conferences would be left out in such a scenario. The report notes that “these ideas are at the earliest stages and any serious discussions are still months away.”
Ted Turner, whose cable business transformed TV sports, dies
Ted Turner, the media mogul and team owner whose TBS "SuperStation" helped pave the way the era of cable...
