new sec networks hurts baseball fans

[Kevin]

we complained a lot about razorvision, but i will miss it next spring when instead of being able to watch all of the home games.

it is going to be reduced to the few that the sec network (including the  app) decides to show.

[ucahogfan]

I was under the belief that all SEC home baseball games were either going to be on the SEC Network or the SEC Network App or ESPN3.  At least we will be able to see those home games in HD now.

[jacobp]

I was under the belief that all SEC home baseball games were either going to be on the SEC Network or the SEC Network App or ESPN3.  At least we will be able to see those home games in HD now.

this is what I thought as well.

[Kevin]

I was under the belief that all SEC home baseball games were either going to be on the SEC Network or the SEC Network App or ESPN3.  At least we will be able to see those home games in HD now.

it says they are covering 75 baseball games, not sure how we get all the home games.

but, i could be wrong.

[ucahogfan]

it says they are covering 75 baseball games, not sure how we get all the home games.

but, i could be wrong.

I'm pretty sure the 75 baseball games will be the ones put on the actual SEC Network.  The SEC Network and the online portion will cover over 1,000 live sporting events in the first year.  I'm pretty sure that all of the home baseball games for SEC teams will be on either the SEC Network, SEC Network App, and ESPN3.

Now, for those 5-10 away games per year where we aren't at a SEC venue, I'm not sure what our options will be there.

[dotnet]

I'm pretty sure the 75 baseball games will be the ones put on the actual SEC Network.  The SEC Network and the online portion will cover over 1,000 live sporting events in the first year.  I'm pretty sure that all of the home baseball games for SEC teams will be on either the SEC Network, SEC Network App, and ESPN3.

Now, for those 5-10 away games per year where we aren't at a SEC venue, I'm not sure what our options will be there.

I can live with missing 5-10 away games compared to what it has been historically

[Kevin]

is espn3 & watchespn app not the same thing?

[ucahogfan]

is espn3 & watchespn app not the same thing?

It is.  ESPN3 is the online platform while WatchESPN is the app for Apple and Android mobile devices.

[Kevin]

my understanding of all platforms
tv:
espn
espnu
espn2
sec network

through the watch espn app:
sec network
sec network +
Espn3

is this correct?

[TuckFexas]

Are blackouts still going to apply for ESPN3 with this new deal?

[ucahogfan]

my understanding of all platforms
tv:
espn
espnu
espn2
sec network

through the watch espn app:
sec network
sec network +
Espn3

is this correct?

As far as I understand that is correct.  I'm still figuring this whole SEC Network thing out.  I do expect TV payouts from the SEC Network and other TV deals to be in the range of 40-50M or more.

[ucahogfan]

Are blackouts still going to apply for ESPN3 with this new deal?

No earthly idea.

[Kevin]

No earthly idea.

i would not think so, but i have been wrong on this whole thing so far.

[hawgcraZ]

The response on wanting Razorvision upgrades recently was they new this was coming and that all home games will be available.  We never had access to those non SEC road games.  I'm pumped about what this means for the quality of watching our games.  Also more will be nationally televised which is always a plus.

[Baseball Hog]

Are blackouts still going to apply for ESPN3 with this new deal?

Let me know if this is an issue for you.  5 min permanent solution.

As I understand it, all games will be available in some capacity.

[ricepig]

As far as I understand that is correct.  I'm still figuring this whole SEC Network thing out.  I do expect TV payouts from the SEC Network and other TV deals to be in the range of 40-50M or more.

More like 35-40M, let's see what the "costs" are for ESPN and the league office before we count on an additional $20M.

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

I'm pretty sure the 75 baseball games will be the ones put on the actual SEC Network.  The SEC Network and the online portion will cover over 1,000 live sporting events in the first year.  I'm pretty sure that all of the home baseball games for SEC teams will be on either the SEC Network, SEC Network App, and ESPN3.

Now, for those 5-10 away games per year where we aren't at a SEC venue, I'm not sure what our options will be there.

This is what I thought.

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

Are blackouts still going to apply for ESPN3 with this new deal?

Don't bring those nasty comments in here, you know better than that.

[jry04]

I was under the impression we will still have Razorvision, but it will be a free service. Is that not correct?

[Big Nasty 34]

Radio is free, doubt video is

[Kevin]

No video is allowed to be stream by the schools.

[Prestn]

I was under the impression we will still have Razorvision, but it will be a free service. Is that not correct?

Yes the audio is free now with the Razorvision app and online.

[ucahogfan]

With all of the home games being streamed on ESPN3, it is even more important to find a great replacement for Chuck.  I suspect that the normal radio guys will be the only ones calling the games that aren't televised because it would require a huge commitment by ESPN to cover all of the sites with regular announcers.

Chuck was one of the best, if not the best, baseball PBP guy in college.  Arkansas has another elite baseball PBP guy in-state right now with Phil Elson.  He might not leave his duties with the Travs to come to call Arkansas Baseball, but Long and IMG Sports need to make a serious run at him.

[jbcarol]

The SEC Network will definitely utilize local talent to fill their programming requirements.  Starting to see congrats messages from fans of other schools on newbies getting their shot calling SEC games for the home school.

[Kevin]

Getting the feeling Alex Perlman call the baseball games

[ucahogfan]

Getting the feeling Alex Perlman call the baseball games

Same here.  Perlman didn't do a bad job, but he isn't near Chuck's level.  As long as they don't let Rick call an entire game, I'll be alright with Chuck's replacement.

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

The SEC Network will definitely utilize local talent to fill their programming requirements.  Starting to see congrats messages from fans of other schools on newbies getting their shot calling SEC games for the home school.

Does this mean there will be 2 new full time regulars calling the games? 1 for the SEC Network and 1 that fills Chucks old spot?

[popcornhog]

With all of the home games being streamed on ESPN3, it is even more important to find a great replacement for Chuck.  I suspect that the normal radio guys will be the only ones calling the games that aren't televised because it would require a huge commitment by ESPN to cover all of the sites with regular announcers.

Chuck was one of the best, if not the best, baseball PBP guy in college.  Arkansas has another elite baseball PBP guy in-state right now with Phil Elson.  He might not leave his duties with the Travs to come to call Arkansas Baseball, but Long and IMG Sports need to make a serious run at him.

Where is Chuck going? Baseball is his strength -- I hate to hear this.

[jacobp]

Where is Chuck going? Baseball is his strength -- I hate to hear this.

Giving up baseball and doing football/basketball only.

[Birminghog]

At least we're going to get audio on all of the games. It was frustrating to try to find consistent audio that wasn't interrupted by local Little League action.

[ClearEyes]

All of the home games will either be on SEC Network TV or SEC Network Plus, which is the online version.  In the past these same games were on Razorvision, but you had to buy a subscription.  Now if your TV provider has a deal with the SEC Network, and all of them do, then you get access to the online programming for Arkansas and all other SEC schools for free. All audio is free via the new app.  The radio/audio replacement for Chuck will most likely be Phil Elson from what I have been told.  Perlman will do the all of the games on the SEC Network and video so there will be two separate feeds, one for radio and one for television/streaming.

[Suidae Suis Scrofa]

All of the home games will either be on SEC Network TV or SEC Network Plus, which is the online version.

Is that true for all SEC home games, meaning that we'll be able to watch the hogs when they travel to other SEC schools.  If so then the only games that won't be televised are early traveling games to non-SEC opponents.

-phil

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

All of the home games will either be on SEC Network TV or SEC Network Plus, which is the online version.  In the past these same games were on Razorvision, but you had to buy a subscription.  Now if your TV provider has a deal with the SEC Network, and all of them do, then you get access to the online programming for Arkansas and all other SEC schools for free. All audio is free via the new app.

This is good news. Going to be a fun season. College (SEC) Baseball on the rise.

[maxre567]

This is good news for those who have TV providers who currently are carriers of the SEC Network, but maybe not so good of news for those who are with cable companies that have not made the deal to get it, or individuals who are cord cutters.  I mean, I did see last I checked, that most of the major cable companies like Comcast, U-Verse, Verizon, Time Warner, DISH, DirecTV, and I believe CenturyLink also carries it, but there are of course some smaller cable companies that probably haven't gotten on board yet with it.

The one good thing about Razorvision was that if you were an internet-only customer of any provider, aka a cableTV-cutter, you could simply buy it without going through a provider.  Bad thing about the SEC Network is I believe you cannot be an internet-only subscriber, you have to have the cable TV hooked up in order to get it, including SECNetwork online and SEC plus.

Now me personally, I got AT&T U-Verse access with the SECN so I'd say it's a fair trade for me.  I only signed up for Razorvision 1 year for baseball, but the warbled audio, 100 kbps video quality, and constant buffer issue from what seemed to be stone age routers and servers running in Baum Stadium, made it frustrating as hell to watch on.  Even if it only was like $13 a month, I decided not to get it the following year and just stuck to the online radio feeds since the sound quality was better and they were free.  It's good to finally have a platform that all games can be watched on through a real actual HD video feed.

I do wish I knew of a way to slingbox the WatchESPN access I have though so those who don't have it had a way to stream it to their Roku boxes or whatever else they use.

[Knot2brite]

What kills me is that I can't get the watch espn app to work where I live because windstream doesn't support it....so are we going to be able to listen to the games on tunein radio?

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

What kills me is that I can't get the watch espn app to work where I live because windstream doesn't support it....so are we going to be able to listen to the games on tunein radio?

Surely, can't image not being able to.

[Suidae Suis Scrofa]

What kills me is that I can't get the watch espn app to work where I live because windstream doesn't support it....so are we going to be able to listen to the games on tunein radio?

Where do you live?  I have Windstream in Sugarland, TX, one of the few places in the whole state with Windstream.  WatchESPN works just fine for me at home, at work (AT&T network), my parent's place in Fayetteville (U-Verse) and everywhere else I've ever tried.

-phil

[Knot2brite]

Texarkana arkansas

[Suidae Suis Scrofa]

Texarkana arkansas

If you have WatchESPN on  a mobile device, like a tablet or phone, perhaps you could try going to a friend's house (who doesn't have Windstream) or public wifi and test Windstram on that network.  I'd be surprised if Windstream was the problem, but you never know.

Do they have Windstream on the TX side of town as well?  I always found it humorous that I had to move from Fayetteville to Texas to get an Arkansas phone company.

-phil

[Knot2brite]

I contacted windstream last year about the watchespn app and why I couldn't get it to work and windstream said they stopped supporting it six months before I called.

[Suidae Suis Scrofa]

I contacted windstream last year about the watchespn app and why I couldn't get it to work and windstream said they stopped supporting it six months before I called.

Ok, I got it now.  Sorry if I'm a bit slow.  So you don't have a television provider that gives you ESPN3 access.  That's what you'd need to get the Hog games.  You are correct, Windstream no longer "subscribes" to ESPN3, you have to log in to WatchESPN with your TV provider credentials then you could view ESPN3/WatchESPN/SECN with a Windstream data connection.

-phil

[Knot2brite]

I am hoping that since direct tv is associated with the sec channel that some how some way I can get the app to work...not sure of how I can get that associated

[Suidae Suis Scrofa]

I am hoping that since direct tv is associated with the sec channel that some how some way I can get the app to work...not sure of how I can get that associated

Do you subscribe to DirecTV?  If so then you should be able to use WatchESPN and ESPN3.com.  You just need to login with your DirecTV credentials.

-phil

[cubsfan5150]

Do you subscribe to DirecTV?  If so then you should be able to use WatchESPN and ESPN3.com.  You just need to login with your DirecTV credentials.

-phil

Unless it's recently changed, Directv and WatchESPN have not came to an agreement.

[Suidae Suis Scrofa]

Unless it's recently changed, Directv and WatchESPN have not came to an agreement.

You are correct.  Learn something new every day.  According to this website: http://espn.go.com/watchespn/affList DirecTV is not a WatchESPN affiliate.

Sounds like some DirecTV subscribers need to threaten to move to Dish unless they get WatchESPN access.

Knot2brite, looks like you might be out of luck.

-phil

[ArKan5a5 KiD]

How do i use the WatchESPN app through Dish? I have Dish but never knew i could get the WatchESPN?

[arthurhawgerelli]

I have Centurylink, and it does not support it.  My son's Xbox does.  ESPN3 is unbelievably crystal clear through Xbox, also.

[rhog1]

How do i use the WatchESPN app through Dish? I have Dish but never knew i could get the WatchESPN?

Go to the app or website on your PC or smart device and choose dish as your provider, then just sign in with your dish account.

[maxre567]

You are correct.  Learn something new every day.  According to this website: http://espn.go.com/watchespn/affList DirecTV is not a WatchESPN affiliate.

Sounds like some DirecTV subscribers need to threaten to move to Dish unless they get WatchESPN access.

Knot2brite, looks like you might be out of luck.

-phil

Seems like the only reason DirecTV is around these days is purely for Sunday Ticket.  If not for that it would've probably merged or been long gone by now.  I think the reason DISH is now on the WatchESPN thing is because they are now an ISP in addition to being a TV provider, whereas DirecTV is still exclusively a TV provider.  That probably has something to do with it.

[dotnet]

Seems like the only reason DirecTV is around these days is purely for Sunday Ticket.  If not for that it would've probably merged or been long gone by now.

Their market share is just under 20%.  Not bad in a market with basically 6 major players.