Why is the 2023 SEC Championship game the last on CBS? Did CBS lose SEC football?

The long-term relationship between the SEC and CBS is set to end after the 2023 college football season. The conference will have a new home for broadcasting its games to fans across the country, marking the end of an era.

The SEC Championship Game between Alabama and Georgia will be the last conference game to be broadcast on CBS.

Why is the 2023 SEC Championship the last game on CBS?

The 15-year television agreement between the SEC and CBS is set to expire and both parties have failed to agree on a new deal. This has thereby resulted in the end of the long-term partnership between the conference and the network.

There's a belief among former and current leadership of the SEC that CBS had ripped the conference, which offers the best games in the landscape, for so long. The SEC has dominated college football during its long years exclusively with CBS, but the network paid relatively low for its games.

Despite holding the biggest single-game weekly package in all college sports, CBS paid only approximately $3.5 million per game. In contrast, for the same game, ESPN is set to pay around $20 million, highlighting a significant disparity in the financial arrangements for broadcasting rights.

Details of the new TV deal with ESPN

ESPN and its sister network ABC will become the exclusive platforms for the SEC's premium football package and basketball events until the 2033/34 season.

The contract is valued at an impressive $3 billion, with the SEC receiving an annual payment of $300 million. This marks a substantial increase, over five times more than the yearly $55 million the SEC previously received from CBS.

This is set to make the SEC more financially buoyant in college football, ensuring the continuation of its domination within the landscape.