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Come mid-August, fans of the Southeastern Conference will be getting their digital fix. And not just for football. They will be able to satisfy most of their jones for all SEC Sports (limited or no live coverage). According to Charles Bloom of the SEC, his understanding is that the content will be free, and he will get back to me with a more definitive answer.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Southeastern Conference (SEC) and XOS Digital, a division of XOS Technologies, Inc., jointly announced today that SEC fans will soon be able to experience the Conference as never before in the history of college sports, thanks to the fast-approaching launch of the SEC Digital Network. With its arrival just prior to football season, the fully integrated new media network will empower fans to experience their favorite SEC teams outside of live, at-game parameters and within minutes after a game's conclusion. "The SEC Digital Network provides our fans with access to the largest online library ever of the Southeastern Conference and its institutions," said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. "Through the efforts of XOS Digital, the SEC Digital Network will provide us with the ability to create and repurpose programming for our fans in a way that was not possible in the past."

The SEC Digital Network will launch prior to the 2009-10 college football season and will set an industry example for how sports organizations can aggregate, manage and distribute exclusive content to fans, according to John Christie, XOS general manager of the SEC Digital Network. Christie added that this technology milestone further positions the SEC as a leading industry example in the digital realm.

From a fan perspective, the SEC Digital Network translates as the largest online library of exclusive and comprehensive SEC sports content available anytime, anywhere. "What makes it so appealing from a fan's perspective, is not only the breadth of exclusive content and flexibility it provides, but also the fact that it's all indexed and easily searchable," Christie said.

Upon launch, the SEC Digital Network will provide its combined fans and alumni from all 12 Conference schools with original produced programming from nearly 10,000 hours of exclusive SEC video. In addition, much of this content will be accessible just minutes after a game's conclusion, which is something Christie says has not been a reality for fans until now.

Fans will have 24-hour, multi-platform access that includes a completely revamped Web site (www.SECSports.com) and mobile devices. The SEC Digital Network will provide fans with access to exclusive content through online video syndication, digital downloads, and exclusive live-streaming and on-demand video content encompassing:

Highlights

Complete game replays

Breaking SEC news in real-time

Post-game interviews

Tailgate events

Behind-the-scenes pep talks

Press conferences

In addition, the SEC Digital Network will enable fans to engage via widgets, polls, forums and mashups that enable the blending of two external functionalities.

The SEC Digital Network will encompass all men's and women's sports. For the 2009-10 season, fans can expect coverage and commentary from a total of 96 regular season Football games, 186 regular and pre-season Men's Basketball games, 165 regular season Women's Basketball games, more than 750 Olympic events and all championships and tournaments.

Details on the official launch date for the SEC Digital Network will come in mid-August via Twitter (http://twitter.com/xosdigital or http://twitter.com/SECSportsUpdate), FaceBook, SEC fan e-mails and an official news release. The Conference encourages fans to continue to visit the current www.SECSports.com Web site for updates in the coming weeks. For more information fans can also visit www.xosdigital.com.

Larry Munson, legendary radio voice of the University of Georgia Bulldogs, may be retired. But he will always be part of the Bulldog folklore. His autobiography, From Herschel to a Hobnail Boot: The Life and Times of Larry Munson, comes out next month.

Co-written with Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta Journal Constitution and CBS Sports, this will be the first time Munson has written about his life in the broadcast booth. From the preview:

For 43 years (1966–2008) Larry Munson was the legendary football radio voice for the University of Georgia Bulldogs. But on September 22, 2008, at the age of 86, Larry announced that it was time to step aside from the one job he loved more than any other in his remarkable career.

For decades publishers have been trying to get Larry to write a book about his life. He always declined, saying he had neither the time nor the patience and even asking, “Who would care?” Well, college football fans everywhere care, and today they are celebrating because Larry is finally ready to tell his incredible story.

We will publish a review of this book when it does come out from Triumph Books.

Related Link(s)

Pre-Ordering Information

Back in April of this year, we told you about the logic-defying move of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that took life-long sportswriter Chip Towers off of the University of Georgia beat and out of sports entirely. Well change has again happened and Chip is back in sports.

Here is a what happened last April:

The University of Georgia is located in Athens, Georgia. During peak traffic times, it can take anything from 2-3 hours to get from downtown Atlanta to Athens. Tim Tucker lives and works from Atlanta. Chip Towers lives and works from Bogart, GA, which is just outside of Athens. He has been covering the Georgia beat for 12 years or so (I forget exactly when he left the Athens Banner-Herald to head to the AJC).

So what does Ms. Wallace do? Among other head scratching reassignments, she cuts the UGA beat to one reporter, giving the beat to Tim Tucker (who covered the beat with Towers) moves Chip to "General Assignment Online."

This means if a big story breaks in Atlanta, Towers will have to haul arse down to Atlanta to cover it even though Tim Tucker lives and works there. And when news breaks out at the University of Georgia Athletic Association (which happens a lot), Tucker will have at haul arse over to Athens to cover that. This, of course, is in addition to having to drive both ways to cover Georgia football and basketball games, even though Chip is "write" here.

Well the change was short lived. I ran into Chip and his lovely wife outside the historic Morton Theater here in Athens this past Saturday night, and confirmed that he is indeed back in sports. After a few months of covering breaking stories here in Athens, including his outstanding coverage of the triple-murder plus suicide over at the Town and Gown Theater group, Chip is now the recruiting blogger at the AJC.

The change is effective as of last Monday, and it is now his full-time job. Chip said he will not be at many games during the season, as his efforts will be focused on the recruiting trail for all of the major sports at UGA, Georgia Tech, and colleges nationwide.

As I told him Saturday, maybe he will become the Phil Steele of the South.

Great to see you back where you belong Chip!

Here is ESPN and the ABC Networks 2009 college football schedule as released by the network. The schedule is missing many SEC contests and is subject to change as the season goes on.

* indicates a tape delay game
Thursday, September 3, 2009
South Carolina at NC State		7 or 7:30 p.m.		ESPN
North Texas at Ball State		7:30 p.m.		ESPNU
Oregon at Boise State		10:15 p.m.		ESPN
Friday, September 4, 2009
Tulsa at Tulane		8 p.m.		ESPN
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Navy at Ohio State		Noon		ESPN
Minnesota at Syracuse		Noon		ESPN2
Kentucky vs. Miami (Ohio)		Noon		ESPNU
Jacksonville State at Georgia Tech		1 p.m.		ESPN360.com
Northeastern at Boston College		2 p.m.		ESPN360.com
Georgia at Oklahoma State		3:30 p.m.		ABC
Baylor at Wake Forest		3:30 p.m.		ABC/ESPN2
Western Michigan at Michigan		3:30 p.m.		ABC/ESPN2
Jackson State at Mississippi State		3:30 p.m.		ESPNU
Missouri vs. Illinois		3:40 p.m.		ESPN
Middle Tennessee at Clemson		6 p.m.		ESPN360.com
William & Mary at Virginia		6 p.m.		ESPN360.com
The Citadel at North Carolina		6 p.m.		ESPN360.com
BYU vs. Oklahoma		7 p.m.		ESPN
Louisiana Tech at Auburn		7 p.m.		ESPNU
Charleston Southern at Florida		7 p.m.		ESPN360.com
Connecticut at Ohio		7 p.m.		ESPN360.com
Western Carolina at Vanderbilt		7:30 p.m.		ESPN360.com
Alabama vs. Virginia Tech		8 p.m.		ABC
Maryland at California		10 p.m.		ESPN2
LSU at Washington		10:30 p.m.		ESPN
Prairie View A&M at Texas Southern		10:30 p.m.*		ESPNU
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Grambling St. vs. South Carolina St.		2 p.m.		ESPN2
Ole Miss at Memphis		3:30 p.m.		ESPN
Monday, September 7, 2009
Cincinnati at Rutgers		4 p.m.		ESPN
Miami at Florida State		8 p.m.		ESPN
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Clemson at Georgia Tech		7:30 p.m.		ESPN
Florida A&M at Winston-Salem State		7:30 p.m.		ESPNU
Friday, September 11, 2009
Colorado at Toledo		9 p.m.		ESPN
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Fresno State at Wisconsin		Noon		ESPN or ESPN2
Central Michigan at Michigan State		Noon		ESPN or ESPN2
North Carolina at Connecticut		Noon		ESPNU
Marshall at Virginia Tech		1:30 p.m.		ESPN360.com
Kent State at Boston College		2 p.m.		ESPN360.com
Notre Dame at Michigan		3:30 p.m.		ABC
BYU at Tulane		3:30 p.m.		ESPN2
TCU at Virginia		3:30 p.m.		ESPNU
UCLA at Tennessee		4 p.m.		ESPN
Jacksonville State at Florida State		6 p.m.		ESPN360.com
James Madison at Maryland		6 p.m.		ESPN360.com
South Carolina at Georgia		7 p.m.		ESPN2
Vanderbilt at LSU		7 p.m.		ESPNU
Mississippi State at Auburn		7 p.m.		ESPN360.com
Kansas State at Louisiana-Lafayette		7 p.m.		ESPN360.com
USC at Ohio State		8 p.m.		ESPN
Utah at San Jose State		10:30 p.m.		ESPNU
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Georgia Tech at Miami		7:30 p.m.		ESPN
Howard at Florida A&M		7:30 p.m.		ESPNU
Friday, September 18, 2009
Boise State at Fresno State		9 p.m.		ESPN
Saturday, September 19, 2009
California at Minnesota		Noon		ESPN or ESPN2
East Carolina at North Carolina		Noon		ESPN or ESPN2
Louisville at Kentucky		Noon		ESPNU
USC at Washington		3:30 p.m.		ABC
Arizona at Iowa		3:30 p.m.		ABC/ESPN2
Nebraska at Virginia Tech		3:30 p.m.		ABC/ESPN2
Utah at Oregon		3:30 p.m.		ESPN
Indiana at Akron		3:30 p.m.		ESPNU
Middle Tennessee at Maryland		3:30 p.m.		ESPN360.com
Navy at Pittsburgh		6 p.m.		ESPN360.com
Louisiana-Lafayette at LSU		7 p.m.		ESPNU
Mississippi State at Vanderbilt		7 p.m.		ESPN360.com
Iowa State at Kent State		7 p.m.		ESPN360.com
Southeastern Louisiana at Mississippi		7:30 p.m.		ESPN360.com
Georgia at Arkansas		7:45 p.m.		ESPN or ESPN2
West Virginia at Auburn		7:45 p.m.		ESPN or ESPN2
Texas Tech at Texas		8 p.m.		ABC
Hampton at North Carolina A&T		10:30 p.m.*		ESPNU
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Ole Miss at South Carolina		7:30 p.m.		ESPN
Friday, September 25, 2009
Missouri at Nevada		9 p.m.		ESPN
Saturday, September 26, 2009
California at Oregon		3:30 p.m.		ABC
Notre Dame at Purdue		8 p.m.		ABC or ESPN
Iowa at Penn State		8 p.m.		ABC or ESPN
Texas Tech at Houston		9:15 p.m.		ESPN2
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Hawaii at Louisiana Tech		8 p.m.		ESPN2
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Colorado at West Virginia		7:30 p.m.		ESPN
Alcorn State at Arkansas-Pine Bluff		7:30 p.m.		ESPNU
Friday, October 2, 2009
Pittsburgh at Louisville		8 p.m.		ESPN2
Saturday, October 3, 2009
USC at California		8 p.m.		ABC
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Middle Tennessee at Troy		8 p.m.		ESPN2
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Colgate at Princeton		7 p.m.		ESPNU
Nebraska at Missouri		9 p.m.		ESPN
Friday, October 9, 2009
Louisiana Tech at Nevada		9 p.m.		ESPN
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Michigan at Iowa		8 p.m.		ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Arkansas State at Louisiana-Monroe		8 p.m.		ESPN2
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Boise State at Tulsa		8 p.m.		ESPN
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Cincinnati at South Florida		7:30 p.m.		ESPN
Howard at Morgan State		7:30 p.m.		ESPNU
Friday, October 16, 2009
Pittsburgh at Rutgers		8 p.m.		ESPN
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Oklahoma vs. Texas		Noon		ABC
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tulsa at UTEP		8 p.m.		ESPN
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Prairie View A&M at Southern		7:30 p.m.		ESPNU
Florida State at North Carolina		8 p.m.		ESPN
Friday, October 23, 2009
Rutgers at Army		8 p.m.		ESPN2
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Oregon State at USC		8 p.m.		ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
East Carolina at Memphis		8 p.m.		ESPN2
Thursday, October 29, 2009
North Carolina at Virginia Tech		7:30 p.m.		ESPN
Friday, October 30, 2009
West Virginia at South Florida		8 p.m.		ESPN2
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Michigan at Illinois		3:30 p.m.		ABC
Penn State at Northwestern		4:30 p.m.		ESPN or ESPN2
USC at Oregon		8 p.m.		ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Marshall at UCF		8:15 p.m.		ESPN
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Bowling Green at Buffalo		7 p.m.		ESPN2
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Virginia Tech at East Carolina		7:30 p.m.		ESPN
Friday, November 6, 2009
Boise State at Louisiana Tech		8 p.m.		ESPN2
Saturday, November 7, 2009
USC at Arizona State		8 p.m.		ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Nevada at San Jose State		8:15 p.m.		ESPN
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Ohio at Buffalo		7 p.m.		ESPN2
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Toledo at Central Michigan		8 p.m.		ESPN2
Thursday, November 12, 2009
South Florida at Rutgers		7:30 p.m.		ESPN
Texas Southern at Grambling State		9 p.m.		ESPNU
Friday, November 13, 2009
West Virginia at Cincinnati		8 p.m.		ESPN2
Temple at Akron		8 p.m.		ESPNU
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh		TBD		ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Sunday, November 15, 2009
East Carolina at Tulsa		8:15 p.m.		ESPN
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Central Michigan at Ball State		6 or 8 p.m.		ESPNU or ESPN2
Buffalo at Miami (Ohio)		6 or 8 p.m.		ESPNU or ESPN2
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Tennessee State at Eastern Illinois		6:30 p.m.		ESPNU
Colorado at Oklahoma State		7:30 p.m.		ESPN
Friday, November 20, 2009
Akron at Bowling Green		5:30 p.m.		ESPNU
Boise State at Utah State		9:30 p.m.		ESPN2
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Bethune-Cookman vs. Florida A&M		2:30 p.m.		ESPN Classic
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Ball State at Western Michigan		7 p.m.		ESPN2
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Tuskegee at Alabama State		4 p.m.		ESPNU
Texas at Texas A&M		8 p.m.		ESPN
Friday, November 27, 2009
Nebraska at Colorado		3:30 p.m.		ABC
Rutgers at Louisville		TBD		ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Illinois at Cincinnati		TBD		ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Nevada at Boise State		TBD		ESPN2
Pittsburgh at West Virginia		TBD		ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Notre Dame at Stanford		8 p.m.		ABC
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Oregon State at Oregon		9 p.m.		ESPN
Friday, December 4, 2009
Marathon MAC Championship Game		8 p.m.		ESPN2
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Southern at Texas Southern		2 p.m.		ESPNU
Arizona at USC		3:30 p.m.		ABC
Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship Game		8 p.m.		ABC
Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game		8 p.m.		ESPN
Wisconsin at Hawaii		TBD		ESPN or ESPN2
South Florida at Connecticut		TBD		ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh		TBD		ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
West Virginia at Rutgers		TBD		ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
C-USA Championship Game		TBD		ESPN or ESPN2

The folks over at Deadspin, well Will Leitch specifically, sort of apologized for the things they have written and said about Erin Andrews. But they are no dummies. Like mainstream media, they know that sex and scandal sells, draws traffic, and raises visits. The eruption of the scandal involving the Erin Andrews video last week more than tripled their normal traffic.

Here are some interesting stats from Quantcast.

Deadspin's Numbers for "All Time"


Deadspin's Numbers for the Last Month




Deadspin's Numbers for the Last Week



The numbers don't lie. They clearly benefited from the attention.

I do not necessarily agree with Jason Whitlock's recent column saying the whole Andrews uproar is only happening because she is white, but generally their audience is predominantly white. But Jason needs to look at the fact that over 50% of measured Deadspin readers from the United States on July 21, 2009 were African-American, far above the normal 7% that visit the site:



So what are their normal demographics? They get the greatly desired male, 18-49 year old segment that is educated and has money.

Again from Quantcast:

In the end, the web is as much about hits as television is about ratings.

ESPN owns the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, so it makes sense that they hire the director. Right? Here is the announcement that Brant B. Ringler as been named the Executive Director for the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl after serving the past five years as its chief marketing director.

Fort Worth, Texas, July 24, 2009 - ESPN Regional Television (ERT) has announced that Brant B. Ringler as been named the Executive Director for the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl after serving the past five years as its chief marketing director.

The 39-year-old Ringler replaces Tom Starr, who resigned May 29 to enter Brant Ringlerprivate business. Starr was named in June 2003 as the first Executive Director for the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, which is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television of Charlotte, N. C.

“We are excited for this opportunity for Brant as well as our Bowl,” said Clint Overby, senior director of events, ESPN Regional Television. “The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl has established a strong presence in the Fort Worth sports landscape and we feel that Brant will continue building the event.”

A veteran sports marketer, Ringler was named in November 2004 as the Manager of Sales and Marketing for the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. While serving in his present capacity, Ringler has set records for soliciting the number of corporate partners involved with the bowl, and was a key element in securing the Bell Helicopter title sponsorship of the game.

“Through the benefit of already working with one of the best staffs in the bowl business, I look forward to continuing the growth of the event within our great community,” said Ringler. “I have enjoyed working the past five years with Tom Starr, so I feel the transition will be smooth.”

Featured in the Fort Worth Business Press’ “40 under 40,” which spotlights 40 of the area’s best and brightest under the age of 40, Ringler joined the Fort Worth-based bowl after four seasons as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Fort Worth Cats professional baseball team. That team was named the 2002 and 2003 Central Baseball League’s Organization of the Year.

He started his sports marketing career with the San Diego Padres minor league affiliate, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, as Sales Manager (1994-1998). Following that position, he worked as a corporate sales executive for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ringler is a 1993 graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington with a bachelor’s degree in Communications.

From CBS News we learn that anyone who watches or downloads a copy of the Erin Andrews video(s) is committing a crime.

"The Early Show" spoke with CBS News Legal Analyst Lisa Bloom, who said downloading or watching the nude Erin Andrews video is illegal.

"Its like buying or selling stolen property," said Bloom. "If you know you are buying something that was stolen... you could be liable criminally and civilly."

Of course, that does not mean that CBS News isn't trying to cash in on the notoriety. They have an 11 picture photo album linked to from the article, using enticing, "lurid" language to get visitors to click on a link that has nothing to do with the scandal:


Related Link(s)

CBS News: You're Busted! Watching Erin Andrew's Naked Video is a Crime
CBS News: Hackers Use Naked Video of ESPN Star Erin Andrews to Attack Your PC

Here is the 2009 Southeastern Conference football television schedule as it stands now (and as released by the Southeastern Conference).

Game		Network		Time
Thur. Sept. 3
South Carolina at NC State		ESPN		7:00 ET
Sat. Sept. 5
Kentucky vs. Miami (Ohio)		ESPNU		12:00 ET
Western Kentucky at Tennessee		ERT/SEC Network		12:21 ET*
Jackson State at Miss. State		ESPNU		3:30 ET
Georgia at Oklahoma State		ABC		3:30 ET
La. Tech at Auburn		ESPNU		7:00 ET
Charleston Southern at Florida		FSN		7:00 ET
Missouri State at Arkansas		Inst. PPV		7:00 ET
Western Carolina at Vanderbilt		CSS		7:30 ET
Alabama vs. Virginia Tech		ABC		8:00 ET
LSU at Washington		ESPN		10:30 ET
Sun. Sept. 6
Ole Miss at Memphis		ESPN		3:30 ET
Sat. Sept. 12
Troy at Florida		ERT/SEC Network		12:21 ET*
UCLA at Tennessee		ESPN		4:00 ET
South Carolina at Georgia		ESPN2		7:00 ET
Vanderbilt at LSU		ESPNU		7:00 ET
Miss. State at Auburn		FSN		7:00 ET
Florida International at Alabama		Inst. PPV		7:00 ET
Sat. Sept. 19
Louisville at Kentucky		ESPNU		12:00 ET
North Texas at Alabama		ERT/SEC Network		12:21 ET*
Tennessee at Florida		CBS		3:30 ET
La. Lafayette at LSU		ESPNU		7:00 ET
Miss. State at Vanderbilt		FSN		7:00 ET
Southeastern Louisiana at Ole Miss		CSS		7:30 ET
Georgia at Arkansas		ESPN or ESPN2		7:45 ET
West Virginia at Auburn		ESPN or ESPN2		7:45 ET
Florida Atlantic at South Carolina		Inst. PPV		7:00 ET
Thur. Sept. 24
Ole Miss at South Carolina		ESPN		7:30 ET
Sat. Oct. 31
Florida vs. Georgia		CBS		3:30 ET
Fri. Nov. 27
Alabama at Auburn		CBS		2:30 ET
Sat. Dec. 5
SEC Championship Game		CBS		4:00 ET
* ERT/SEC Network Games Kickoff at 12:21 ET with Pre Game Show at 12:00 ET
Tentative and Subject to Change
Additional games to be added as become available