ACC Schools Preparing Infrastructure For Launch Of ESPN-Affiliated Cable Network
Planning, spending and even some construction projects are "already underway" at ACC schools "in preparation for the launch of the league's dedicated television channel in three years," according to Joedy McCreary of the AP. Some ACC schools have begun "drawing up construction projects to either build or retrofit existing facilities with the space and equipment needed to produce programming for the ESPN-affiliated cable network when it starts" in '19. North Carolina Assistant AD/New Media Ken Cleary said, "We'll have to finalize some decisions fairly quickly." McCreary noted the conference net "figures to add up to big money," though "nobody will publicly predict how much." An online-only version of the channel is "already up and running, though to the viewer, it's essentially a rebranded ESPN3." Cleary said that a goal is for the schools to each eventually "have their own control rooms, so those big production trucks mostly wouldn't be needed for TV broadcasts." N.C. State is spending $6M in part to turn a space inside its football HQ "into a broadcast and production center," while Wake Forest as part of its upgrades to Joel Coliseum is "building multiple control rooms." Florida State is "adding two control rooms, to produce content for both the network and the new video scoreboard" and recent projects at Clemson were "designed with a possible network in mind. Clemson AD Dan Radakovich said that "tweaks to accommodate TV production were inserted into the plans" (AP, 8/31).
CRYSTAL BALLERS: SI.com's Gabriel Baumgaertner as part of a roundtable said of the ACC Network, "The struggles of both the Longhorn Network and the Pac-12 Network have me skeptical, but the ACC’s alignment with ESPN should help its visibility." SI.com's Lindsay Schnell said the net will be "very" successful because ESPN "will insist on it." Schnell: "From a football standpoint, the ACC is pretty good and going to get better, and that always helps." But SI.com's Andy Staples said, "It won’t be as lucrative as the Big Ten or SEC networks because the ACC simply doesn’t have as many fanbases that care as deeply as the ones in the Big Ten and SEC. But it will be successful" (SI.com, 8/28).
FRESH PIE: Raycom Sports today announced that Mellow Mushroom will be the official presenting sponsor for its package of ACC football games this season. The agreement gives the Atlanta-based pizza chain category exclusivity for the entire season. The deal marks the first large-scale, multimarket ad and marketing campaign for Mellow Mushroom, and a series of humorous commercials has been created by BooneOakley, Charlotte (Raycom).
