One huge positive that comes with the SEC moving from CBS to ESPN in 2024
The 2023 college football season is the last year of the beloved "SEC on CBS" weekly broadcast that has aired each Saturday at 3:30 PM ET for the last 27 years. Beginning in 2024, the famed 3:30 PM ET time slot on CBS will feature a Big 10 game. ESPN, after securing the rights to […]
The 2023 college football season is the last year of the beloved "SEC on CBS" weekly broadcast that has aired each Saturday at 3:30 PM ET for the last 27 years.
Beginning in 2024, the famed 3:30 PM ET time slot on CBS will feature a Big 10 game. ESPN, after securing the rights to the SEC in 2020, will be the new home of the SEC at 3:30 PM ET each Saturday (technically, the 3:30 PM ET game will air on ABC).
ESPN, which is in the process of crafting its own unique SEC theme music (I think we're all going to miss the old SEC on CBS theme music), will have more flexibility when it comes to game times for SEC matchups.
And speaking of flexibility, that's where one of the biggest benefits of the move to ESPN, at least for fans, comes into play.
According to Yahoo Sports, which recently published an in-depth article from Ross Dellenger on the details of the split between CBS and the SEC, ESPN will release the kickoff times for more than half of the league's games ahead of the season.
ESPN will retain the right to flex games, but according to Yahoo Sports, the games that are flexed will only move one time slot (afternoon to evening for example, but not morning, the noon slot essentially, to night). That will make planning much easier for fans who buy tickets to a game months in advance.
From Yahoo Sports: The move to ESPN — and ABC — will give the SEC more televised games to upward of 130 million households; more control in start times; and multiple windows on network television. Kickoff times for more than half of the league’s games will be announced before the season, and those that are flexed will only move one slot (morning to afternoon or afternoon to evening).
One of the biggest perks, though, is the valuable platform on network television with ABC. SEC doubleheaders on ABC may become quite common, and there are likely to even be tripleheaders too, with kickoffs at noon, 3:30 and 7.
While the league will have a weekly 3:30 p.m. ABC broadcast, its best game doesn’t always have to occupy that slot, Magnus said. It could shift to prime time. For instance, he knows that LSU’s fan base prides itself on the tradition of night games at Tiger Stadium.
It's going to be odd to longer watch SEC games on CBS each week. But it sounds like there are plenty of perks that come along with the move to ESPN that will make the SEC college football viewing experience easier for fans.
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