SEC Football Schedule 2024: Start Times, TV Info Announced for Remainder of Slate
June 11, 2024
After previously announcing the start times for the first three weeks of the 2024 SEC season, ESPN has unveiled the approximate kickoff times for the remaining games.
Per SECSports.com, there will be three different starting windows for SEC games from Weeks 4-14:
- Early window: Between 12 p.m. ET to 1 p.m. ET
- Afternoon window: Between 3:30 p.m. ET to 4:30 p.m. ET
- Night window: Between 6 p.m. ET to 8 p.m. ET
There is also a flex schedule with start times that will be set between the afternoon and night windows. The exact start time for each game will be confirmed no later than six days before gameday unless otherwise indicated.
ESPN originally announced the start times for the first three weeks of the season on May 30. That group of games includes a Week 1 interconference showdown between Georgia and Clemson at 12 p.m. ET on Aug. 31.
The Week 4 slate begins on Sept. 21 with games featuring Florida vs. Mississippi State (12 p.m. ET) and Ohio vs. Kentucky (12:45 p.m. ET). Flex games include UCLA vs. USC and Tennessee vs. Oklahoma.
This season marks the start of a 10-year media rights agreement between the SEC and ESPN. The deal ended the conference's longstanding partnership with CBS Sports that began in 1996.
Per Kevin Draper and Alan Blinder of the New York Times, ESPN is paying the SEC a total of $3 billion over the life of the deal that runs from 2024 to 2033.
The biggest changes from the deal give ESPN rights to the afternoon window that had belonged to CBS. It was often reserved for the best SEC game of the week, including the Iron Bowl at the end of the regular season between Alabama and Auburn.
This year's Iron Bowl, which will be played on Nov. 30, is currently in the flex window with Louisville vs. Kentucky, Oklahoma vs. LSU and Texas vs. Texas A&M.
ABC will have broadcast rights to the mid-afternoon SEC game, but it won't necessarily be the marquee matchup of the week since ESPN has the flexibility to position games in the window to give it maximum exposure.
The SEC is expanding to 16 teams this season with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma. Both programs will officially join the conference on July 1 after being members of the Big 12 since it debuted in 1996.