College football fans that have Dish Network can rejoice! ESPN and DISH announced last night that they have reached an agreement for DISH to carry the SEC Network at launch.
The SEC Network is set for launch on August 14, 2014 and will be available to DISH subscribers with America’s Top 120+ package and higher. DISH subscribers will also have access to “additional live events scheduled for the SEC Network’s digital platform, with the ability to watch SEC Network content anytime, anywhere on their television, computer, tablet or mobile device.”
In its first year, the SEC Network will air over 1,000 live events, including at least 45 exclusive SEC football games, 100+ men’s basketball games, 60 women’s basketball games, 75 baseball games, 50 softball games, and much more.
“Few fan bases rival the passion and loyalty of the SEC, and DISH is proud to be the first nationwide television provider of the SEC Network,” said Dave Shull, DISH executive vice president and chief commercial officer. “We strive to give our customers and consumers what they want, and there’s no better place for the college sports fan than with DISH.”
“This is an important day for the SEC Network. We are pleased to welcome DISH to the SEC family,” SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said. “More than five months ahead of the network launch, it’s exciting to have a national distributor and our first satellite provider onboard. Now SEC fans from across the country have another way to show their conference pride and sign up to get the SEC Network.”
Included in the deal between DISH and Walt Disney Company, which owns ESPN, is even more college sports content. DISH subscribers will now be able to access the Longhorn Network (Texas Longhorns sports), ESPN Goal Line (college football), and ESPN Buzzer Beater (college basketball).
With the addition of DISH as a carrier, the SEC Network now has three total providers – DISH, AT&T U-verse, and National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative.
If your provider hasn’t agreed to carry the SEC Network yet, you can head over to GetSECNetwork.com to encourage them.