Down in Charlotte at ACC Media Days — with football season less than two months away — league commissioner John Swofford spoke in front of the assembled media. As he does every year at the event, Swofford discussed the overall health of the conference and a few notable news items.
At the top of everyone’s mind is the ACC Network.
Speaking of @accnetwork, Swofford emphasizes that 15-member ACC offers footprint with greatest population & most TV sets among the major conferences. Such things will be very helpful as ACCN launches Aug 22 and beyond. pic.twitter.com/7P6jD9s8PG
— David Glenn Show (@DavidGlennShow) July 17, 2019
The ACC Network
The primary focus of Swofford’s forum centered around the launch of the ACC Network, which will flip the switch on Aug. 22. That’s, like, a month from now.
With a partnership between the ACC and ESPN, the 24/7 national network has been in development for at least three years now. Over the last year, a more clear picture has been offered as to what the network will look like — from a content and personnel standpoint.
This will now include a Friday night two-hour preview show going into that weekend’s games. The program will be hosted by Jac Collinsworth.
Called "The Huddle" and hosted by Jac Collinsworth, son of Cris. https://t.co/hko0Bq9HTB
— David Teel (@ByDavidTeel) July 17, 2019
In addition to that, the Swofford also announced what the network’s broadcast teams will look like for football: play-by-ball, color analyst and reporter.
.@accnetwork announce teams for football games: Dave O'Brien, Tim Hasselbeck and Katie George; Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich and Kelsey Riggs; Wes Durham, Roddy Jones and Eric Wood.
— David Teel (@ByDavidTeel) July 17, 2019
More questions, however, surround how the league and network plan to attract eyeballs to its content. There are distribution and cost concerns to consider.
Swofford says they’re expecting the ACC Network’s distribution to be a three-year process as contracts expire/renew.
Says they’re expecting to be exactly where they thought or maybe a little ahead re: distribution next month.
— Barnt (@barntwn) July 17, 2019
Back in March, DirecTV joined Verizon FiOS and Altice along with Hulu and Playstation Vue — two streaming options — as carriers for the network.
There’s still plenty more to figure out, though. Cable providers like AT&T U-Verse, Comcast, Charter-Spectrum and the Dish Network have yet to reach an agreement/deal with ESPN.
John Swofford: "I think our fan bases will respond very, very negatively" if @accnetwork unavailable from their TV provider. #ACCKickoff
— David Teel (@ByDavidTeel) July 17, 2019
Sports Gambling
While the ACC Network grabbed most of the headlines, there was also a brief mention of sports gambling and its ever-evolving legality.
Several states in the league’s elongated footprint, like Pennsylvania and New York, have full-scale legal sports gambling. Other states — North Carolina, for instance, where the ACC is headquartered — have at least had bills recently introduced but not passed on gambling.
Swofford: “We want space between gambling and our games… but the laws are changing. I would hope at some point, at the federal level, there’s some consistency from state to state… obviously gambling has been there. Now it’s legal.” #ACCKickoff
— Mitchell Northam (@primetimeMitch) July 17, 2019
That’s not much of a deviation from what Swofford stated at last year’s event. He took a mostly neutral stance, but claimed to not like the optics of it.
Swofford says he still doesn't like the optics of gambling and college sports. #ACCKickoff
— Andy Bitter (@AndyBitterVT) July 18, 2018
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