Written by Ell | 14 August 2008

And all the seasons in between. CBS and the SEC have signed a 15 year deal for broadcast rights. That is right on through the 2023 season. That looks so wierd to type. There are a few new wrinkles in the deal:

In this new deal CBS gets the right to pick the first game during every week of the regular season. In the previous deal ESPN got the first pick a few weeks out of the season. CBS will televise one prime time game per season.

That means there's only one truly marqee game each year in prime time - the rest will be normal 2:30 CST kickoffs. It's not noted whether the night game will be a fixed week before the year or if it will be CBS's choice. Additionally:

This new deal with CBS does not eliminate the possibility of an SEC television network. That won’t be determined until the SEC announces the remainder of its television contracts with ESPN and Raycom.

The SEC would be incredibly foolish not to start their own network. The Big Ten is making money at it, and they practically don't even care about football! It could be called exceptionally likely that this will happen. There will also be a renewal with some sort of agreement with ESPN - it's suicide not to. There's a distinct possibility that this leaves Dave, Dave and Dave out in the cold - unless they wind up with jobs at a nascent SEC network. We can hope not. From the Bleachers thinks this is a bad deal for the SEC, and it's tough to argue. The premium on live sports will only increase - it's the most pressure-packed "reality TV going" - and the SEC has locked their revenues in on the CBS front. However, look for them to move quicly on a network and soon. That will give the SEC the total control they want and need.

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