The ACC Network is scheduled to debut in August '19, but to "minimize initial hiccups," ESPN wants the league’s 15 schools and their production units to be "operational a year in advance," according to David Teel of the Hampton Roads DAILY PRESS. Florida State, Virginia and Duke are "far ahead of pace, with the ACC’s 12 other campuses in various states of readiness." All will "spend millions, initially on facilities, then on manpower." Those on the front line such as UVA Senior Associate AD/External Affairs Todd Goodale and Virginia Tech Dir of Production & Broadcast Operations Brian Walls "share information, and they have mined peers" in the SEC for insight. The universal ACC theme is that the schools’ "considerable investments and logistical challenges will pay dividends in the form of exposure and revenue." VT AD Whit Babcock "ballparks" the costs to construct production facilities for the linear ACC Network at $5-7M. UVA recently completed $6M in "upgrades that include control rooms and a spacious studio." If the ACC Network launched today, UVA would "have the tools in place." Goodale said, "But we need more staff and additional experience to do it (the production) well" (Hampton Roads DAILY PRESS, 6/18).
PROFIT DISPARITY: Outgoing Pac-12 Networks President Lydia Murphy-Stephans said there is a profitability "gap between what Pac-12 Networks delivers and the Big Ten Network and the SEC Network." She said what has to be "factored in is the revenue specifically from Pac-12 Networks is only one part of the overall revenue each university receives from the Pac-12." Murphy-Stephans: "I understand there is frustration, though no athletic director or administrator was ever told the Pac-12 Networks would deliver the same or more revenue than what its peer conferences are currently getting from their networks." She said there are "other sources of revenue," and Pac-12 Networks "certainly shouldn't be called out." Murphy-Stephans: "I don’t think it’s fair in any way to call out Pac-12 Networks as the source of the deficiency the universities or maybe those particular athletic directors or administrators are citing" (CABLEFAX.com, 6/19).
