John Swofford stood in the center of ESPN’s new Bristol, Connecticut studio and addressed ACC Network viewers directly. The engineer of the network’s launch and league commissioner became one of the first faces of the launch on 7 p.m. Thursday night.

For nearly 10 years, Swofford worked behind the scenes to keep the conference competitive within the national landscape. The Atlantic Coast Conference added multiple teams, including Syracuse in 2013, bringing the total to 15. Then came the opportunity for an ACC-specific station.

While the Southeastern Conference, Pacific-12 and Big Ten all developed and launched their channels with in-studio hosts and hundreds of annual live sporting events, the ACC lagged behind. Not anymore. In July of 2016, Swofford announced that the ACC Network would become a reality.

15 schools. 1 home.

? WE. ARE. LIVE! ? #ACCNLaunch pic.twitter.com/MUEH00i7ws

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) August 22, 2019

Nearly six years to the day after Syracuse became a part of the conference, the ACC will highlight non-revenue sports more than it could before. From now on, the league — which just won six national championships including football, men’s basketball and men’s lacrosse in 2018-19 — will have its own home on TV, like many other conferences.

According to a USA Today study on public universities from 2017-18, only one ACC school is in the top 18 for revenue. No. 1 is Texas, which has its own Longhorn Network that began in 2011. Eight SEC schools and seven Big Ten universities join Florida State in the rest of the top 18. The launches of other conferences’ networks have increased revenues for larger schools, according to public spending reports.

“We’ve learned some lessons from the SEC launch,” ACC Network producer Aaron Katzman said. “But this will be its own network that will have the appeal of the ACC and nothing else. The best part of this is being able to start something from the ground floor, and it’s really embracing the unknown.”

It’s impossible to gauge exactly how much revenue the television channel will generate initially, but the ACC Network is already available in more homes than the Pac-12 Network, per The Athletic. ACC athletic directors are expecting at least a $4-5 million increase in revenue in its first year of existence. After that, The Athletic reports the numbers could more than double to $10-15 million annually.

“The ACC Network will give our schools a national platform to showcase our campuses, our coaches, our student-athletes,” Swofford said in July at the ACC Kickoff. “This will result in 24/7 ACC programming, increased exposure for our athletic programs, our student-athletes, our entire universities, and their communities.”

Despite the excitement around the network’s launch, major television providers still needed to agree to carry the new channel.

Distribution of the new network

Disney and ESPN announced on Aug. 14 that Charter/Spectrum will carry the network, a huge win for many local Syracuse fans who, until the announcement, wouldn’t have been able to watch hundreds of live Syracuse sporting events. An estimated 16 million Spectrum subscribers can now watch the network, including the majority of the central New York region, where Spectrum is the most common provider, according to The Washington Post.

There are deals in place for some, but not all, television providers. Verizon, Spectrum, DirecTV, YouTube TV, PlayStation Vue and Hulu Live TV all show the new network, but Cox, Comcast and Dish Network users still have no way of viewing. ESPN’s vice president of college networks Rosalyn Durant said that negotiations will continue to develop.

Eva Suppa | Digital Design Editor

That leaves an estimated 40 million people through those three main providers, many along the east coast, unable to watch most ACC sporting events. Athletic directors across the conference, including Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack, have encouraged customers to call their providers and demand the network, but most are still waiting.

“ESPN is responsible for securing the distribution deals,” Wildhack said in May. “It’s not easy to secure carriage for new networks.”

On-campus live programming

While ESPN built a 2,800 square foot studio in Bristol to lead its in-house content, the largest burden of the new network falls to each individual school within the conference.

In an earlier press release, ESPN said the network will show 450 live sporting events, 40 regular season football games and all 27 of the conference’s sponsored sports. In total, 1,350 events are expected to be broadcasted in the first year.

A key to the launch was ensuring that all 15 campuses would have the capability to produce live sporting events. Syracuse has facilities like the studios in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication to easily transition and prepare for the launch. Other schools needed to build entire live event sites. According to a report in the News and Observer, North Carolina spent millions renovating its production room, while North Carolina State had to build a new studio from scratch.

“We have to be ready to produce at the 15 universities,” Wildhack said. “Another great part of the network is how it will increase the exposure for Olympic Sports and women’s sports which will be very appealing for Syracuse fans and ACC fans.”

Eva Suppa | Digital Design Editor

What fans can expect from the network

With its approach to original content as well as its partnership with ESPN, the ACC Network appears to mimic its SEC counterpart, which launched five years prior.

With well-known radio talk show host Paul Finebaum beginning a daily sports talk show each day, the SEC Network had a face, and the popularity of SEC football pushed the network into an estimated 70 million homes.

Like the SEC Network’s success, ACC officials are hoping for a similar scope and reach, but producers like Katzman insist the content will be very different.

The ACC has a historically strong foothold in basketball, featuring top programs Duke and North Carolina and defending national champion Virginia. The first basketball game broadcasted on the ACC Network will be Virginia’s trip to Syracuse on Nov. 6. The network also announced a four-part, in-depth series about defending football champions Clemson titled “All-In.”

The ACC Network doesn’t have personalities as well-known Finebaum, but it does have a daily morning show, “Packer and Durham.” From 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. each day, hosts Mark Packer and Wes Durham will host a show from Packer’s Charlotte home. The pair hosted an in-depth ACC show last year on SiriusXM radio.

“They live and breathe the ACC, they have great pedigree lines within the ACC,” Katzman said about the morning show.

While the SEC Network made the marquee analyst additions of Greg McElroy and Tim Tebow, the ACC has also turned to its athletic alumni to fill the airwaves. The network will feature former players and coaches, including EJ Manuel, Mark Richt, Mark Herzlich and Tim Hasselbeck.

In a normal week, Monday’s content will focus on recapping the weekend, Thursdays will feature a special in-depth look at Olympic sports across the league and each weekend will begin with a two-hour preview show on Friday nights, Katzman said.

“Some of the beauty of having a brand new network is that we don’t know what we don’t know yet,” Katzman said. “Everyday after the launch is going to be different.”

Published on August 26, 2019 at 1:41 am

Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo