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As it nears the third anniversary of its launch, the SEC Network continues to be the king of college conference television networks.

While cord-cutting, among other things, has hurt subscriber numbers, the SEC Network is worth four times as much as any of the other conference TV networks, according to research SNL Kagan provided to AL.com.

The SEC Network is valued at $4.692 billion -- a slight dip from its 2015 valuation of $4.77 billion -- while the Big Ten Network is at $1.142 billion and Pac-12 Networks lags behind at $305 million. In 2015, SNL Kagan valued the Big Ten Network at $1.59 billion. The ACC Network is slated to get its own linear network in 2019 while the Big 12 does not have its own network though Texas has the Longhorn Network.

The SEC Network's lofty valuation is despite losing eight million subscribers in the last two years, according to SNL Kagan estimates. Most industry experts have assessed SEC Network at 70 million subscribers -- the estimates pegged it at 69.1 million in Aug. 2015 -- but SNL Kagan end-of-2016 data put it at 61.4 million subscribers. If those estimates are accurate, that's loss of $70 million in subscriber fee revenue.

While that represents a substantial loss, it pales in comparison to estimates of parent company ESPN losing more than a billion in revenue after losing more than 10 million subscribers since 2013. While the SEC Network is facing the same problems as many of its TV network peers, industry analysts are still bullish on it.

"We still feel that as part of the Disney family of networks, the SEC Network will be less vulnerable to cord cutters due to the company's name brand and the strength of its portfolio," said Adam Gajo, a sports business analyst for SNL Kagan.

What helps SEC Network is high demand for the product, and one of the more expensive subscriber fees out of sports television networks. Ryan Smith, vice president of content for AT&T's U-Verse, told AL.com in 2015 that subscriber intensity for SEC sports was "off the charts for what we normally see for sports."

The SEC Network's average monthly subscriber fee is $0.74, according to SNL Kagan's most recent data, a good chunk more than the Big Ten ($0.43) and Pac-12 ($0.27). That average monthly subscriber fee, which takes into account in-market and out-of-market prices, makes the SEC Network the fifth-most expensive sports network for consumers behind ESPN ($7.21), NFL Network ($1.39), FS1 ($1.15) and ESPN2 ($0.90).

Based on subscriber number and fee estimates, the SEC Network is generating approximately $545 million off subscriber fees alone -- more than NBC Sports, MLB Network and NBA TV. That doesn't take into account the revenue generated through SEC Network's placement on over-the-top platforms Sling TV, DirecTV Now and the recently launched Hulu Live TV. SEC Network recently announced it would soon be available in Mexico which should boost revenue albeit potentially minimally.

“SEC Network is strongly positioned because of interest in the content and the significant audience, partly because of the approach they’ve taken with the business model having ESPN fully invested in getting it distributed,” said Dan Shevchik, vice president of Sports Media Advisors.

The success of the SEC Network is rarely considered when discussing ESPN's current issues, but by all accounts, it's been an unabashed success for all involved. It is wholly owned by ESPN -- it keeps more than 50 percent of the profits in its deal with the SEC -- and represents a significant profit center even after losing subscribers since 2015. As time passes, the operational costs will become more fixed and the startup expenses further in the rearview mirror, helping the profit margin.

What helped SEC Network's rapid growth, namely ESPN's distribution model and cable subscriptions, represents some liability if the model continues to change though most industry experts believe it is in good position to fight against the changing tides. It offers a solid enough product -- not the premier weekly football games, though -- that there is high demand for it. Viewership numbers are still unknown, however, as Nielsen doesn't rate the network.

"The SEC has that inherent advantage that if Alabama or Auburn is playing the Little Sisters of the Poor, people are still going to watch in huge numbers," Jeff Nelson, vice president of client strategy at Navigate Research, previously told AL.com.

What will be interesting is whether the SEC Network can improve upon its $1.30 in-market subscription fee in future carriage negotiations with cable providers. If it can do that -- and it is believed to be well within the realm of possibilities -- that could further push the SEC Network ahead of its conference TV competition.

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