the first game isn't until august 28. yet there are a plethura of people who say they will switch providers if a deal isn't reached by august 1. i was in the military too many years. i know the meaning of hurry up and wait. i'm not going anywhere.
that said i would hope bright house will be on board by the end of august. i also have cable beside dtv.
Hypothetically lets say directv doesn't get the channel because right now they still have not said anything. If you wait too long (esp in the sec's geographic footprint) chances are the dish installs will be overbooked and you won't be able to get it installed before the first game. That's why many have set aug 1 as their deadline. That first game should actually be pretty interesting and not your normal "first game of the season" against some overmatched small school.