I am boycotting the Super Bowl...join me...

[JonLP24]

100. More than likely it is going up due to the demand for these sports packages

They agree to pay a per subscriber fee as they do with all with all channels & packages, ESPN receives the highest per subscriber (and it isn't close) fee for a basic cable channel and the reason for that is because you can image the outrage if that ESPN screen is ever black.

I agree with your suggestion in the second paragraph but a big part of the negotiations with SEC, Big Ten network, etc is they want to be included in the basic or standard packages. A big reason why a Directv & the Pac 12 Network still hasn't agreed to terms is they didn't offer to do the same, which was to include them in a standard package and also the SEC agreed to receive a lower per subscriber fee outside of the Southeastern Conference states. This will all completely change when the existing contracts run out (most of the marquee games are already available on ESPN, ABC, Fox Sports) & the completely independent Pac-12 network will have sole power over the broadcast rights to their games and commercials like this will make more sense --

Also hundreds of other providers has already agreed with the Pac-12 Network's terms. Directv had an earlier stalemate with the SEC Network & the outrage was epic from their own subscribers.

Really all this is agreement with the points you make basically, where I differ it isn't so much they're subsidized in that they gain more viewers & more money than they would lose if they didn't have these deals. And everyone is subsidizing channels they don't watch in a way though providers love to make the excuse why they "have to" jack up your bill, they do it because they can. If they lost too many subscribers that outweighed the subscribers gained they wouldn't do this.

Super Bowl would lose a little bit a power but the NFL has already agreed with its one & only provider to a massive long-term deal on the NFL Sunday Ticket with Directv last year which the AT&T merger hinged on. If Directv didn't score the Sunday Ticket, the merger wouldn't happen. However, the NFL broadcast contracts are entirely on national broadcast networks & available without cable or satellite with the exceptions of the Monday Night games & the 1 wild card game (which all are broadcast on an antenna channel locally to the teams in the match-up).