ESPN is getting a lot more than the PPV games. A HUGE component of the SEC/ESPN deal is digital content (ie WatchESPN and ESPN3). Digital rights is one of the big reasons why there is a delay in carriage agreements.

In 2013 the SEC was the highest rated conference with 12 teams in the Top 25, including 6 teams in the Top 10

Espn will have to. They won't air the "big games" on ESPNU because in most markets ESPNU is part of a sports package. The SEC Network will be made available only on basic cable in the 11 state footprint of the SEC. If the bigger games are not on the sec network it will have a tremendous impact...

They already are: Texas AM vs South Carolina, they play in the first week, will be on the SEC Network. To say this is a "big game" or not is relative to the fan.

Out of the 45 games scheduled at least 30 of them will be conference games. At any degree, to say these 45 games will all be lower tired or not "big time" games is relative.

How is this relevant? There will be three live football games on the SEC Network every Saturday. Every school has a minimum three non conference games and the majority of those are already produced and aired on ESPNU.

For the past 10+ years there has always been an 12:30pm Saturday game each week. The selection process went like this: 1) CBS got first pick (usually the best game of the week) and airs the game at 3:30. 2) ESPN comes in and selects various games and airs them on their family of networks...

Not exactly. SEC-TV was syndicated programming, not a channel. Outside of the 11 state SEC footprint it will most likely be part of a sports tier. Within the 11 state SEC footprint, it's only offered on carrier's basic cable line up (linear). In addition to linear distribution, carriers...