The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) has announced that The CW Network has obtained exclusive broadcast rights to 50 of its college football and basketball games each season through 2026-27, all produced by Raycom Sports. A matchup between the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and University of Cincinnati Bearcats will open the 2023-24 campaign, during which games will air on Saturday afternoon and in primetime.
When autumn turns to winter, The CW Network will broadcast 28 men’s basketball games and nine women’s basketball games on the weekends. Men’s basketball doubleheaders will take place on Saturday afternoons while women’s basketball games will be on Sunday afternoons.
“We are thrilled to be adding The CW to our weekly television lineup for ACC football and basketball games,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D., said in a statement. “The CW’s national distribution will directly benefit our student-athletes, teams, alumni and fans. We appreciate ESPN and Raycom working together and look forward to the partnership with The CW.”
“We are committed to making The CW a destination for live, appointment-viewing sporting events,” Dennis Miller, president of The CW Network, said in a statement. “The ACC is home to some of the most decorated college football and basketball teams in the country, and we look forward to welcoming these avid sports fans to the network as we continue to broaden our audience.”
These media rights were acquired by The CW from Raycom Sports, which sub-licenses rights from ESPN. The ACC agreed to a 20-year media rights deal with ESPN in 2016, and the “Worldwide Leader” also launched the ACC Network in 2019. Under the terms of the deal, each member school grants its own individual rights to the conference, which are then part of the larger media rights deal.
Raycom Sports, owned by Gray Media Group, works in video content production, distribution, sales and marketing and has produced a countless number of live sporting events with premier athletic conferences. The company has also worked with the National Football League to produce preseason games and specials. There was an existing relationship between Raycom Sports and the ACC since the company manages the conference’s digital platforms and launched the ACC Digital Network, a free ad-supported television channel.
“The CW is going to be a terrific partner for the legendary ACC,” Hunter Nickell, chief executive officer of Raycom Sports, said in a statement. “The longest-running television relationship in college sports belongs to the ACC and Raycom Sports. Now, The CW brings national broadcast network coverage to the great fans of these 15 famous schools.”
