1. History

2. Programming

3. Carriage

4. References

5. External links

ACC Network (ACCN) is an upcoming American cable and satellite television channel that is owned by ESPN Inc. Announced on July 21, 2016, it will be dedicated to coverage of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and will launch on August 22, 2019. The channel will operate from ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, though some programming and staff will be based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Ahead of the linear channel's launch and as part of ESPN's new contract with the conference, ESPN launched the digital platform ACC Network Extra on WatchESPN in 2016, which streams ACC events not broadcast on television.

History

There had been repeated calls for the ACC to establish its own cable channel, similar to those that had or were being established by other Power Five conferences.^[1] From July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013 (in the midst of realignment that saw Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Louisville announce that they would join the ACC, Maryland leave for the Big Ten, and Notre Dame join the ACC outside of football), the ACC took in less television revenue than the Pac-12, SEC and Big Ten conferences. The Big Ten and Pac-12 had already launched their own channels, while ESPN and the SEC had announced the SEC Network would launch in 2014.^[1][2] SEC Network's first year of operation increased the conference's television revenue by around $100 million.^[1]

In discussions with ESPN management, there were uncertainties over whether an ACC channel would be economically viable, due to cord cutting and changing television viewing habits.^[1] The stability of the ACC itself was also questioned, but was addressed in 2013 by requiring the conference's current teams to grant the ACC control of media rights to all home games through the 2026–2027 season, even if they leave the conference. This policy effectively discourages schools from leaving the ACC, and left the SEC as the only Power Five conference to not have a similar grant requirement.^[3][1] Eric J. Barron, president of Florida State University, stated that the grant would "ensure that the conference will strengthen its position of leadership among Division I athletics", and stated that "we are also very pleased that we will be moving forward on the next phase of developing an ACC network."^[3]

On July 21, 2016 at a media event in Charlotte, North Carolina, ESPN announced a 20-year extension of its contract with the ACC, and that it would launch a cable channel dedicated to the ACC in 2019 known as the ACC Network. The announcement was attended by then-ESPN president John Skipper and ACC commissioner John Swofford. Ahead of the linear channel, ESPN announced that it would begin to stream ACC events beginning in the upcoming 2016 season.^[4][5] Following the announcement, Skipper defended the decision to go on with launching a linear ACC channel, arguing that sports were the most valuable property on television because they are "the only thing you have to watch live".^[1]

Each ACC school is constructing production facilities so they can contribute programming to the channel. Its operations will be based out of ESPN's main studios in Bristol, but some programming will originate from Charlotte, North Carolina.^[6][13]

In November 2018, it was officially announced that ACCN would launch on August 22, 2019.^[7] It will air its first football game on August 29, with the defending national champion Clemson Tigers hosting the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.^[8]

Programming

ACC Network is expected to carry 1,300 events per-year.^[1] To increase the amount of sports content available, the ACC agreed to expand its conference schedule in college basketball to 20 games by the 2019-20 season. ESPN also acquired the secondary ACC rights previously held by Raycom Sports for its syndicated ACC Network (the company will continue to be involved as a subcontractee for events that can be carried by the new channel).^[9][1]

Mark Packer and Wes Durham will host a morning show simulcast on ACCN and SiriusXM. Opening night programming will include the ESPN Films documentary The Class That Saved Coach K—chronicling Mike Krzyzewski's turnaround of the Duke Blue Devils basketball team in the 1980s.^[10]

As a prelude to the linear service, and as part of ESPN's new rights package, WatchESPN began to carry broadcasts of ACC sporting events not on television under the branding ACC Network Extra; ESPN promoted that it would carry over 600 live telecasts per-season.^[11][12]

Carriage

ESPN stated in June 2017 that it had reached carriage deals for the ACC Network with unknown providers.^[13] In October 2017, Altice USA committed to offering the channel as part of in its latest round of carriage negotiations with Disney.^[14] On December 30, 2018, Disney reached a new carriage agreement with Verizon Fios, which included carriage of the ACC Network.^[15] On March 12, 2019, agreement was reached with the largest provider DirecTV.^[16] Hulu and PlayStation Vue have also agreed to carry the channel at launch.^[17]

References

External links

• http://getaccn.com/

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