BC, ACC brethren set to get richer with TV network
Network debuts in 2019
Herald Staff Friday, July 22, 2016
Credit: AP
Commissioner John Swofford, center, announces an ACC/ESPN Network during a news conference at the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, July 21, 2016.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford spent the past few years dodging questions about the potential for a television network dedicated to his league.
Yesterday, his dodging days officially came to an end with an announcement that the ACC joined forces with ESPN on a new venture that will carry as many as 1,300 live events annually over traditional and digital platforms by the time it is fully operational in 2019.
“Some of you may be disappointed that I’m not going to be able to do the dance that I’ve done the last couple of years, dancing around some questions about television,” Swofford said at the ACC’s annual Football Kickoff media event. “Yes, after years of discussions and rumors, I’m pleased to announce a new media agreement with ESPN that extends through 2035-36.”
The new ACC Network is the product of more than three years of negotiations between the league and its cable partner and will consist of two major components.
The first, known as “ACC Network Extra,” will be immediately available through apps such as ESPN3 and WatchESPN. It will be a digital live-events channel featuring football and basketball games, along with those in the lower-profile Olympic sports.
A traditional linear network will be added in 2019, allowing even more games and championship events to be televised.
What does this all mean for Boston College?
First and foremost, it will give the Eagles greater visibility not only in their home market but across the country. That’s especially true in men’s basketball, which will begin playing a 20-game conference schedule in 2019, up from the current 18, as a means of providing more content for the new network.
It also will mean an increase in revenue. Although neither Swofford nor ESPN president John Skipper were willing to give specific numbers on the amount of money the new television venture will generate, Skipper did concede that it will “put the ACC in the upper echelon of Power 5 conferences.”
The ACC joins the SEC, Big Ten and Pac-12 as conferences with their own independent television networks.
In addition to extending the league’s television partnership for the next 20 years, the agreement between the ACC and ESPN also extends the grant of rights each conference school signed back in 2013.
That means the ACC will continue to control the media rights and revenue for all 15 of its current members through the duration of the contract regardless of their conference affiliation, making it all but impossible for anyone to leave at least until 2036.
“This is not just a milestone. This is historic,” Duke athletic director Kevin White said. “These are very challenging times. We’re meeting the challenges head on within the Atlantic Coast Conference. We’ve just created a wonderful opportunity with this partnership.”
Network debuts in 2019
Herald Staff Friday, July 22, 2016
Credit: AP
Commissioner John Swofford, center, announces an ACC/ESPN Network during a news conference at the Atlantic Coast Conference Football Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, July 21, 2016.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford spent the past few years dodging questions about the potential for a television network dedicated to his league.
Yesterday, his dodging days officially came to an end with an announcement that the ACC joined forces with ESPN on a new venture that will carry as many as 1,300 live events annually over traditional and digital platforms by the time it is fully operational in 2019.
“Some of you may be disappointed that I’m not going to be able to do the dance that I’ve done the last couple of years, dancing around some questions about television,” Swofford said at the ACC’s annual Football Kickoff media event. “Yes, after years of discussions and rumors, I’m pleased to announce a new media agreement with ESPN that extends through 2035-36.”
The new ACC Network is the product of more than three years of negotiations between the league and its cable partner and will consist of two major components.
The first, known as “ACC Network Extra,” will be immediately available through apps such as ESPN3 and WatchESPN. It will be a digital live-events channel featuring football and basketball games, along with those in the lower-profile Olympic sports.
A traditional linear network will be added in 2019, allowing even more games and championship events to be televised.
What does this all mean for Boston College?
First and foremost, it will give the Eagles greater visibility not only in their home market but across the country. That’s especially true in men’s basketball, which will begin playing a 20-game conference schedule in 2019, up from the current 18, as a means of providing more content for the new network.
It also will mean an increase in revenue. Although neither Swofford nor ESPN president John Skipper were willing to give specific numbers on the amount of money the new television venture will generate, Skipper did concede that it will “put the ACC in the upper echelon of Power 5 conferences.”
The ACC joins the SEC, Big Ten and Pac-12 as conferences with their own independent television networks.
In addition to extending the league’s television partnership for the next 20 years, the agreement between the ACC and ESPN also extends the grant of rights each conference school signed back in 2013.
That means the ACC will continue to control the media rights and revenue for all 15 of its current members through the duration of the contract regardless of their conference affiliation, making it all but impossible for anyone to leave at least until 2036.
“This is not just a milestone. This is historic,” Duke athletic director Kevin White said. “These are very challenging times. We’re meeting the challenges head on within the Atlantic Coast Conference. We’ve just created a wonderful opportunity with this partnership.”
