Next week, Clemson and North Carolina will meet in the ACC football championship at Bank of America Stadium in a match-up that, as of this week, is sold out. John Swofford, the ACC commissioner, has maintained close ties between the conference and Charlotte — a relationship he told me Tuesday could extend to housing an ESPN-backed cable channel if the league and the media company decide to move forward with a joint venture.
Three of the five major conferences have dedicated cable channels already. The Big Ten Network started in 2007 and is owned by the conference (49%) and Fox Sports (51%). The University of Texas, with IMG College and ESPN, launched The Longhorn Network in 2011, which explains, in large part, why the Big 12 doesn’t have a channel. Next came the Pac-12 Network, wholly owned by the conference, in 2012. In 2014, ESPN started the SEC Network, which set a record for distribution (the number of homes the channel is made available in by cable companies). The SEC Network is based in Charlotte at ESPN’s Ballantyne studios.
The ACC, like the SEC, has a long-term contract with ESPN for football and men’s basketball games and, if an ACC cable network is created, it would be done in tandem with ESPN. The current contract with ESPN pays the ACC an average of $300 million per year through 2026-27.
“There’s not much I can tell you at this point in time other than it continues to be a work in progress,” Swofford told me Tuesday when I asked him about the prospect of an ACC channel. “And we’re satisfied with that progress. We’re not yet at a point where we’re definitive in what we intend to do or when we intend to do it, but we’ve got a great partner in ESPN. It doesn’t get any better than ESPN in sports television and our discussions are ongoing.”
Swofford, similar to what industry analysts told me this week, noted that the how and when of a network launch are complex, crucial questions.
“It’s a difficult time right now,” said sports media consultant Lee Berke. “You’ve got issues regarding a shrinking pay-television audience, consolidation of distributors and a lot of new (cable) networks having to buy their way on (to cable systems) as opposed to receiving a (subscription) fee.”
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Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
