US sports broadcaster ESPN will launch SEC Network, a new pay-television sports channel dedicated to college sports’ Southeastern Conference, on August 21, 2014, according to the Orlando Sentinel newspaper.
ESPN’s senior vice-president of programming Justin Connolly said that along with the 450 live events the network is expected to broadcast, he expects that the original target of showing 550 events per year on digital platforms will be exceeded.
The launch of SEC Network was first announced in May when ESPN extended its rights deal with the conference for 10 years, from 2024-25 to 2033-34.
Each year the channel will show 45 American football games, more than 100 men’s and 60 women’s basketball games, 75 baseball games and selected events from the other 17 conference sports.