College Football Kickoff 2024: SEC on ABC Poised to Become Marquee Sports TV Property Producer Bill Bonnell and director Jimmy Platt set to lead ESPNs new marquee college football package By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Thursday, August 29, 2024 - 3:10 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
In a college football season where power conferences bulk up, it doesn't get bigger than the growth of the Southeastern Conference.
Bill Bonnell (left) and Jimmy Platt will serve as the producer and director of the top game each week on the SEC on ABC. (Photo: Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images)
Long a television juggernaut, the SEC has enjoyed one of the more treasured sports television windows [the SEC on CBS at 3:30 p.m. ET] for the past two-plus decades. Now, with a new set of rights kicking in just in time for the arrival of the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma, there's naturally a load of anticipation around the conference's new exclusive partnership with ESPN and the debut of football's latest crown jewel television brand, the SEC on ABC.
While the ESPN family will be tasked with producing hundreds of live football games this fall including a weekly game in 4K and the expanded College Football Playoff set to debut this December the SEC on ABC is the network's new glamour brand with its own dedicated graphics package and music reserved for SEC games on broadcast television in that coveted 3:30 p.m time slot.
SEC home games broadcast on ABC will have their own exclusive graphics package.
SEC on ABC broadcasts will primarily be in the 3:30pm ET time slot. However, any SEC home games appearing on ABC will retain the SEC on ABC branding.
There are so many different things that we're looking at this year that have us really excited for the season, probably more so than I've been in quite a long time, says Jarrett Baker, Senior Manager, Remote Production Operations at ESPN, who is a graduate of the University of Florida. I grew up in the SEC so to have that the top game each week; the highest profile game on our network, it's going to be incredible.
On Thursday, ESPN shared the new theme music that will score SEC on ABC broadcasts. It's a re-orchestration of a throwback that will sound familiar to college football fans of the late 1990s and early 2000s and will be used exclusively on any SEC home game that airs on ABC. That could mean the 3:30 window or an SEC home games in primetime during ABC Saturday Night Football and in the ABC noon ET window. The theme was done by composer Bob Christianson, who also created the popular NHL on ESPN theme.
Music is a crucial element in shaping the storytelling of any broadcast, ESPN president of content Burke Magnus said in an official release. The opportunity to resurrect a theme song that means so much to college football fans, and so many of us at ESPN, was important as we start this new chapter in our relationship with the SEC.
Behind the scenes, the introduction of the SEC on ABC causes a bit of a reshuffling of ESPN's top college football crews. The top team, led by producer Bill Bonnell and director Jimmy Platt, will work the top SEC game each week, that typically being the 3:30 slot. The B and C crews will likely also be on SEC games for ABC either in primetime or at noon.
The SEC on ABC debuts on Saturday with a doubleheader: Miami at Florida (3:30 p.m. ET) and Notre Dame at Texas A&M (7:30 p.m.).
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
When MMA icons Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano meet inside the Hexagon at Intuit Do...
15/05/2026
Daniel Roher attends the Tuner Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Theatre on January 22, 2026 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Neilson Bar...
15/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
15/05/2026
Rebranded show announced
Ahead of their 2026 return, Music Expo have announced that they have now officially changed their name to the MONO Music Conference...
15/05/2026
Fuzz pedal joins UK companys line-up
UK-based pedal makers Buzzing Bugs Audio Devices have recently unveiled their latest creation, the Bolster. Said to pay...
15/05/2026
Joint Statement: News Bargaining Incentive
28 April, 2026
Media releases
The vibrancy of Australian democracy relies on the robust and open exchange of new...
15/05/2026
Call it Deltavision, Australia's through to the Grand Final of this year'...
15/05/2026
Join Calrec at MPTS 2026 | May 13-14 | Stand A40 | Olympia, London We're looking forward to meeting up with customers and partners at this year's Media ...
15/05/2026
86% of media planners would move more linear TV budget to CTV if they had show-level targeting and reporting - and 65% would also shift dollars from programmati...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Clear-Com will showcase new communications solutions and major platform updates at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7005), June 17-19, in the North and Central Halls of t...
15/05/2026
Following an outstanding inaugural year in 2025, Rise AV is proud to announce the return of its flagship leadership initiative, Elevate. The programme continues...
15/05/2026
Berklee Announces Lineup for Inaugural AI Music Summit The three-day event puts musicians at the center of the future of music creation, ethics, and the indus...
15/05/2026
Lightware returns to InfoComm 2026 with a focused showcase of scalable USB-C connectivity, next-generation AV-over-IP solutions, and technologies that help over...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Delivering a live, arena-scale production of a massively popular band is no small feat. Between expansive in-arena LED walls and a global live stream fed to onl...
College Football Kickoff 2024: SEC on ABC Poised to Become Marquee Sports TV Property Producer Bill Bonnell and director Jimmy Platt set to lead ESPNs new marquee college football package By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
