Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 12, 1994 TAG: 9402120189
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
DATELINE: BIRMINGHAM, ALA. LENGTH: Medium
The network, which lost pro football and major-league baseball in the past year, will televise about 12 football games involving SEC teams annually from 1996 through 2000. At least two of those games will be shown nationally each year.
CBS will show 18 to 20 men's and women's basketball games each season beginning this fall, with the men getting the vast majority of the exposure.
"It certainly enhances the coverage of SEC football, which has long been the premier sport of this conference," said Roy Kramer, the SEC's commissioner. "Now, basketball is elevated to this same national level."
CBS' gain was the College Football Association's loss.
The Southeastern Conference - a founding member of the CFA - will pull out of the association's TV package after the 1995 season, when the CFA's deal with ABC and ESPN expires. The contract is worth $300 million, and the SEC makes up about one-quarter of the package.
Chuck Neinas, the CFA's executive director, said the organization was "disappointed" to lose the 12-team SEC from its TV package, which includes 63 universities.
"But that is the prerogative of their members," Neinas said in a statement. "The CFA will move with dispatch to determine the preference of the remaining members relative to a future television plan and be prepared to respond accordingly."
ABC's vice president for programming, David Downs, said the future of the CFA was uncertain. Other conferences are exploring independent TV deals because of the SEC's defection, he said.
"The CFA is still technically an organization," Downs said. "But we have informally heard from people and we expect to hear from more."
David Zucker, vice president for programming at ESPN, said the question of whether the CFA would remain viable depends on whether other conferences or schools pull out.
"We're considering all our options," Zucker said.
Top CBS sports executives were in Norway for the Olympics, a spokesman said.
The SEC commissioner would not discuss financial details of the deal. But Joe Dean, Louisiana State's athletic director, had said CBS offered $17 million annually for five years of football, or $85 million total. Basketball rights will be purchased on a per-game basis.
The SEC makes an estimated $15 million annually through the current CFA package. Kramer said the conference would remain a member of the CFA, which addresses issues involving NCAA Division I-A football.
CFA marketing director Mike Bohn said ABC and ESPN expressed interest in negotiating for TV rights with the remaining members of the CFA package.
CBS purchased exclusive network rights to SEC football games, which will kick off at 3 p.m. Saturdays after a pregame show.
CBS contract does not include the SEC championship game or any postseason appearances. ABC, which broadcast the league's first two title games, already has rights for the next two championships.
by CNB