It’s been awhile since we’ve had any updates on the ACC Network, but some news came out this week.
First many of us thought the ACC Network would be based in Charlotte, NC near the ACC’s geographic center. SportsBusinessDaily reports that the ACC Network will based out of Bristol, Connecticut.
ESPN told network staff today that ACC Network’s primary studio home will be on its Bristol, Conn., campus, where it built a 194,000-square foot studio three years ago for more than $100M for shows like “SportsCenter” and ESPN’s NFL studio programming.
This was a little uprising, but in the end it is fine. Sharing a facility with the SEC in Charlotte, may have been limiting for the ACC. In Bristol the ACC can build it’s own independent brand with it’s own dedicated facilities. Some ACC fans think the conference is still too Carolina-centric anyways, and that alleviates that. It’s only a 3 hr flight from Miami to Connecticut, so I don’t think distance will matter much. The important thing is the ACC Network continues to move forward.
Here is the second bit of ACC Network news that came out this week. You just knew ESPN would pair the ACC Network with the SEC Network where possible. Now we know that’s for sure ESPN’s strategy. From this Bloomberg.com report on ESPN Pushing it’s College Channels.
ESPN is pushing cable operator Altice USA Inc. to carry two of its college sports channels and make its flagship network more widely available as part of negotiations to renew a contract expiring at the end of the month, according to a person familiar with the matter…
…Disney is asking Altice to carry the SEC Network and the new ACC Network in the New York City area. Neither conference has a team based in that market.
I actually consider this huge news. While the SEC has their passionate football fans, don’t think for a moment that this strategy won’t help the SEC get into markets they aren’t currently and vice versa for the ACC. I think this is a positive first step for the ACC Network getting wide distribution. We’ll keep an eye on how things continue to develop for the ACC Network.
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