Time Warner Cable Reaches Deal With SEC Network; Bright House Networks Also Signs Up

It's getting increasingly lonely for DirecTV when it comes to carrying the SEC Network. ESPN announced today that it has reached a deal with Time Warner Cable to carry the conference's channel, essentially leaving DirecTV as the only major provider of live video that doesn't have the network. Bright House Networks, which doesn't even crack the list of the top 10 video services, also got on board.

The number of homes the SEC Network is available to is now up to "approximately 60 million," according to ESPN. The agreement comes on the heels of a deal with Comcast; Dish Network is still the only large satellite provider with the SEC Network.

As we get closer and closer to the channel's Aug. 14 launch, and the first live football game on Aug. 28, it's understandable if DirecTV fans are getting a little antsy. Whether and when to cancel your service is up to you, but it's getting very close to crunch time. Personally, when Comcast was still dithering, I was targeting Aug. 1 as the date to make a final decision, which would provide about two weeks for any issues in getting service before launch and almost a month before Texas A&M and South Carolina kicked off the season.

Of course, DirecTV and other satellite networks also often require contracts, which adds an additional level of complexity to the question. If your contract with DirecTV runs out between now and Aug. 28, all I can tell you (as someone who's not an expert in television economics) is that there's no deal yet, and DirecTV has been one of the most stubborn holdouts against the Pac-12 Networks.

You can still go here and demand that DirecTV (or another provider) picks up the SEC Network. But time is running out.