ESPN-Spectrum update: Which SEC football games are blacked out in Week 2 schedule?
It's Week 2 of the college football season, and the SEC will be front and center with several of the top games on the schedule, including a massive nonconference showdown between No. 3 Alabama and No. 10 Texas.
Unfortunately for fans of the conference's various teams, the majority of those games will be blacked out on TV after outages initially began moments before Florida's season opener vs. Utah — at least, if you are a Spectrum subscriber. The cable TV, internet and communications giant has blacked out the entirety of the ESPN family of networks amid a carriage dispute with Disney, which owns the Worldwide Leader in Sports and its various networks.
What does that mean for fans who want to watch some of the top games from the SEC's Week 2 schedule? A lot: Only one televised game this week (No. 23 Texas A&M at Miami) is free of the blackout and, even then, not completely. Depending on where you watch the nationally televised game, some Spectrum customers' local ABC affiliate may also be blacked out as part of the ongoing dispute.
With that, here are the SEC games that will be blacked out on Spectrum cable as it and Disney continue haggling over carriage prices:
MORE: Watch select SEC games with Fubo (free trial)
What SEC games are blacked out on Spectrum in Week 2?
A total of nine SEC games will be televised on an ESPN network in Week 2, while the remaining five will air exclusively on ESPN+. That means Spectrum fans who don't have an ESPN+ or other streaming subscription will be unable to watch any conference games in Week 2.
Here's a rundown of every SEC game that will blacked out for Spectrum customers in Week 2 (including the ABC broadcast of Texas A&M-Miami, which will be blacked out in certain markets):
Game | Time (CT) | TV |
Vanderbilt at Wake Forest | 10 a.m. | ACC Network |
Ball State at No. 1 Georgia | 11 a.m. | SEC Network |
2:30 p.m. | ESPN2 | |
No. 23 Texas A&M at Miami | 2:30 p.m. | ABC* |
Kent State at Arkansas | 3 p.m. | SEC Network |
No. 10 Texas at No. 3 Alabama | 6 p.m. | ESPN |
McNeese at Florida | 6:30 p.m. | ESPNU |
Arizona at Mississippi State | 6:30 p.m. | SEC Network |
Auburn at Cal | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN |
REQUIRED READING: Another Tennessee football game, another lockout: Spectrum viewers have more to lose this season
How to watch ESPN games without cable
The good news for Spectrum fans is there are myriad options to watch various ESPN channels without the need for a cable subscription. Those include the likes of YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling (in varying packages) and more.
Another option is Fubo, which not only has the entire ESPN family of networks, but also offers a free trial.
What ESPN channels are blacked out on Spectrum?
The entire ESPN family of networks is blacked out on Spectrum, meaning fans who subscribe to the cable service will be unable to watch the game on TV (or even stream it on the ESPN app with their cable login). That includes ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and conference-specific channels such as the SEC, ACC and Longhorn networks.
Here's a rundown of which ESPN channels are blacked out on Spectrum:
ESPN
ESPN2
ESPN Deportes
ESPNU
ESPN News
SEC Network
ACC Network
Longhorn Network
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: ESPN-Spectrum update: Which SEC games are blacked out in Week 2?
