ACC Network to launch by 2019

ACC commissioner John Swofford (Getty Images).

 

The ACC’s vision of a conference network looks like it’s becoming a reality.

According to multiple reports, including from Sports Business Daily and (fittingly) ESPN, the conference and ESPN have agreed to launch an ACC television network by August of 2019.

In the meantime, the two will collaborate on more digital-only offerings via an online ACC Network that would launch in the fall.

As part of the agreement, the ACC is also going to be partnered with ESPN for quite some time. The conference extended its grant of rights with ESPN through the 2035-36 season. Via ESPN:

The conference’s grant of rights makes it untenable financially for a school to leave, guaranteeing in the 20 years of the deal that a school’s media rights, including revenue, for all home games would remain with the ACC regardless of the school’s affiliation.

The ACC’s new grant of rights also automatically extends Notre Dame’s contract with the conference as a member in all sports but football through 2035-36, a source said. If the Irish forgo football independence in the next 20 years, they are contracted to join the ACC.

An ACC Network would mean the Big 12 would be the only Power Five conference without a network or an agreement to have a conference-wide network. Of course, the Big 12’s lack of a network has almost everything to do with the existence of Texas’ Longhorn Network.

A network would also theoretically launch the ACC into the same revenue stratosphere as the Big Ten and SEC. Those two conferences generate the most revenue because their channels have the most distribution. While the Pac-12 Network has struggled for nationwide distribution via television providers, the ACC’s relationship with ESPN will likely help ease the distribution process.

But it’s also worth noting that revenues from cable channels may not be as lofty as the projections when they become actualities. As consumers have found more and more entertainment options via streaming, the number of cable subscribers has dwindled.