ACC/ESPN officially announce ACC Network
To start the 2016 ACC Kickoff, commissioner John Swofford officially announced a joint partnership with ESPN to create the ACC Network.
The new venture joins the ESPN family and will feature over 450 live events a year including 40 regular-season football games and 150 men's and women's basketball games.
“We are tremendously pleased to further enhance our long-term partnership with ESPN that includes the creation of the ACC Network and ACC Network Extra, and positions the conference for the long-term future,” said Swofford. “This partnership continues to be a win-win for ESPN and the ACC. ESPN is the premier provider in sports content and this agreement will deliver unprecedented coverage to our fans, while highlighting our quality student-athletes, coaches and institutions.”
The network is planned to launch by August of 2019, while ACC Extra, an online component, will broadcast 600 live games in year one and is expected to launch this fall. The number of live events provided will rise each year, with more than 1,300 ACC events to be distributed across ACC Extra and the ACC Network in 2019.
ESPN president John Skipper was also on hand to announce the new 20-year partnership that extends the network's exclusive broadcast rights to the ACC through 2036.
“We look forward to working with our longtime partners at the ACC to create a network that reflects the depth and quality of its athletes and teams, and serves the fans who passionately support them. We are proud and excited to add the ACC Network to our industry-leading college content offerings,” said Skipper.
This agreement also extends the conference's grant of rights deal, which binds the member teams to the ACC until the deal expires. Were any school to leave the ACC prior to 2036, it would not be able to share in the TV rights from any other conference and would forfeit its percentage to the rest of the conference's teams. It also means that should Notre Dame decide to join a conference before 2036 it will have to be the ACC.