The Trouble with Television
What to make of the SEC's new 10 year contract with ESPN
Today’s Pig Tales will be a little different. Instead of breaking down the latest Arkansas game, I’d like to take a moment to write about the SEC’s new announcement regarding a contract with ESPN over CBS. I know that television deals may sound boring, but I promise I’m going somewhere with this. If you would, I’d really appreciate your subscription. It helps me gauge what’s working and what’s not, and makes sure you never miss an edition of this newsletter/blog/site.
With that, let’s talk TV.
If you’re like me, you were probably a little worried when news broke this afternoon that the Southeastern Conference had a “significant announcement” to make. The vagueness of the release was troubling, and the fact that the SEC chose a 6:30pm announcment would mean that all eyes would be on whatever news it was. I first saw it in this tweet:
Unfortunately, the circumstances of this hellyear have made it such that my immediate assumption was that the SEC Championship game would be cancelled or that Marc Curles would be named the official for all Arkansas games from here to eternity.
None of that was the case though, as it turned out to just be a television deal:
Just like that, the biggest conference in college football has arguably the most important sports network locked up for 10 years. But with the announcement came a few concerns for me, and what better place to voice those concerns than right here in my own dang newsletter?
As excited as I was at the concept of Saturday primetime games without Gary Danielson’s color commentary, and as excited as I was to realize that this meant that the best SEC game each week would now be aired at night rather than at 2:30pm, there were some troublesome realizations made too.
These thoughts don’t mean that it has to be a bad deal, or that it even will be, but I’m not going to be celebrating this deal either. I’ll lay out my concerns, and perhaps you’ll understand where I’m coming from, as absurd as it may seem to have Takes™ about television deals.
My main concern comes from the fact that the parent company of ESPN, Disney, has just acquired the biggest brand in college football. While they already owned the ability to have wall to wall coverage with the SEC Network, this means that they’ll have the absolute best game each week, without question.
What’s the bad part of that? Well, Disney has forayed into the streaming wars, and this SEC deal appears to be a move to further their plan to conquer all of media. Why? Because this deal comes with the stipulation that select non-conference games in basketball and football will be paylocked behind an ESPN+ subscription.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve reached the point where cord cutting has become almost as expensive as having a cable or satellite subscription. It’s not that the individual packages cost a ton, but rather that the requirement to own every single service nickels and dimes you to death, until you’re spending as much if not more just to consume the content that you want.
With Arkansas not a national powerhouse, my assumption is that many Arkansas games will now be locked behind an ESPN+ subscription that will be required in addition to your standard cable broadcast package. For a region with extreme rates of poverty and low access to rural broadband, it’s disheartening to think that many of the fans who built the SEC into the brand that it is today may find themselves locked out of watching their favorite teams.
The South still struggles to serve its rural and impoverished communities in ways many of us take for granted, with internet being a chief concern. We’ve seen these concerns skyrocket with the rise of the necessity for digital learning in the wake of COVID-19, and we’ll likely continue to see it as the world becomes more and more digital.
Gone are the days when anyone could have a pair of rabbit ears on the televison to catch the game on 4, 7, or 11. Now, you’ll need a streaming-quality internet capacity, a smart device to cast it, and a subscription to ESPN+ that you almost certainly don’t have now.
While this won’t affect diehard fans like me who are blessed with fast internet and enough disposable income to spend on a superfluous extra subscription, I don’t think that everyone will be able to keep up with the Hogs, and I think that’s bad for the sport.
The reason that Arkansas in particular is so special is because everyone in the state can watch the Hogs, and almost everyone does. To limit access in any way is a net negative in my opinion, and could especially hurt athletes who come from poorer, rural communities. Imagine not being able to watch your kid play for the Razorbacks because you can’t get internet service way out in the country.
I know that ESPN+ only costs $4.99 a month, but as Netflix has seen multiple increases in price since its inception, I’m sure that ESPN+ will too. Given the dominance of share in the market, there’s no reason that they shouldn’t other than the obvious ethical ones I’m raising.
It’s a frustrating trend that’s continuing across all media, and resulting in something that’s more or less universal like sports becoming locked into gated communities. That’s also not to mention the coverage of sports that don’t grab as many viewers. The SEC Network was originally (by my understanding) supposed to be able to televize every single SEC sporting event, even if it was Vanderbilt hackeysack. Now, the channel is dominated by replays of games that are years old, despite live games being played concurrently. I can think of several times where I’ve had to find an Arkansas soccer or women’s basketball game online because the SEC Network is showing a replay of the 2011 Alabama-LSU game.
Again, this isn’t to be doom and gloom, or even to point out that this will actually take place. The deal doesn’t necessarily have to keep anyone out of viewing their favorite teams. Nevertheless, the ability does exist with that ESPN+ stipulation, and I think that’s more than enough cause for concern. For the rural and underserved, there’s a real chance that they may not be able to watch their favorite teams in a region that is disproportionately rural and underserved.
I hope that Mickey Mouse keeps this in mind when it comes time to collect dues on this massive, lucrative deal, because it could directly, negatively impact the people who give these brands their worth in the first place.
Thanks so much for reading! What do you think? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill? Leave a comment and let me know. Be sure to share this with folks you know as well as those you don’t, because it helps this thing grow, and I know lots of you would like to see it grow. Until our special two-parter tomorrow!
Stay healthy, stay safe, and go Hogs!