Analyst: SEC Network May Generate Nearly $1B in Revenue

Todd Juenger of Sanford C. Bernstein thinks the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Network launched by ESPN, could soon generate nearly $1 billion in revenue and help boost the Walt Disney’s bottom line.

The networks is being carried by every major distributor other than Cablevision Systems and had 62 million subscribers at launch. While Disney has not disclosed how much it is getting in affiliate fees -- or any other financial details about the channel-- Juenger estimates that distributors in states with SEC schools are paying about $1.30 to $1.40 per subscriber for the network. In non-SEC markets, Disney is getting 25 cents or so. Juenger figures that about 40% of SEC Network’s subscribers are paying the higher rates, giving the network about $588 million in affiliate fee revenue. That should increase over the next few years. Based on the ESPN model, Juenger expects the SEC Network to generate about 30% of its revenue from advertising, or $252 million, though it will probably take some time to get to that level.