WOW! cable subscribers fretting over the possibility of not having the SEC Network when it debuts in a month, can put their fears to rest. But they will have to pull out a couple more bucks each month.

An ESPN release shows what one of the SEC Networkâs studios will look like when the network goes on the air on Aug. 14, 2014.

It's not official because there's not a signed contract with ESPN, said Kirk Zerkle, vice president and general manager of the Huntsville area provider for WOW!, but it will happen before the new network goes active Aug. 14.

"Yes. The SEC Networks is certainly a hot one, and we do have every certainty of adding that," he said. "We're nearing the final process of our agreement with ESPN. We haven't done a press release because we haven't finished the contract. But we have until Aug. 14 before it launches."

WOW! serves Madison, Montgomery, Auburn, Dothan and Valley areas. Kirkles promise could come as welcome news to many Madison and Limestone County cable subscribers and others in who don't have access to another cable provider or who prefer to bundle cable, phone and/or internet service together rather than opt out of cable for satellite TV.

WOW!, formerly Knology, is the lone primary cable TV provider for much of Madison, though there are some sections with access to AT&T U-verse. The only other option is satellite TV service.

Madison City Councilwoman Ronica Ondocsin opened a letter from WOW! at City Hall earlier this week and saw where subscribers were going to see a $2 increase on their monthly bills as part of a sports surcharge. Though she said she was sad to see an increase, she optimistically figured it had something to do with WOW! adding the SEC Network.

Alabama cities served by WOW!, formerly Knology, which expects to have the SEC Network in place when it begins broadcasting Aug. 14. (Source:www.wowway.com)

The threat of not having the SEC Network lined up has caused more residents to complain lately about the lack of a cable competitor for WOW!, such as Comast/INFINITY in Huntsville. She said she repeatedly has to remind constituents that WOW! was not given a monopoly, and Madison would welcome a competitor if one wanted to invest in the infrastructure. That's unlikely in current market where uncertainty reigns because of rapidly changing technology and fiber optics, Ondocsin said.

Zerkle said the councilwoman was partly correct in attributing the $2 per month increase to the SEC Network. The price increase is a sports surcharge, and the high demand for providing the SEC Network is one of the reasons overall program costs jumped 15 percent this year, he said.

"But it's not paying SEC Network $2 per (subscriber)," Zerkle said.

The $2 increase does not affect subscribers who have a guaranteed rate plan.

So subscribers who recently purchased the $60-per-month plan to get two of three bundled services, will continue to pay that price until 2016, Zerkle said. Bundling all three would remain at $89.