 | |
| Country | |
|---|---|
| Availability | Regional |
| Headquarters | Charlotte, North Carolina |
Broadcast area | United States |
| Owner | Raycom Sports |
| Parent | Gray Media |
Key people | |
| Established | December 8, 1982 |
Launch date | September 2010 |
| Dissolved | March 17, 2019 |
| Affiliates | list of affiliates |
Official website | www www |
ACC Network was asyndicated package ofcollege sports telecasts featuringfootball andbasketball events from theAtlantic Coast Conference, produced byRaycom Sports, the sports syndication unit ofMontgomery, Alabama-basedRaycom Media (later acquired byGray Media).
The package stemmed from a joint venture between Raycom andJefferson-Pilot Teleproductions, which acquired the rights to ACC basketball in 1982 under the banner Raycom/JP Sports. In 2004, Jefferson-Pilot's ACC football package (which began in 1984) was also moved under Raycom/JP Sports. Jefferson-Pilot was acquired byLincoln National Corporation in 2006, who would in turn sell its media assets to Raycom in 2006. In 2010,ESPN acquired the rights to ACC basketball and football, but continued to sublicense games to Raycom Sports to continue the syndicated package, which was relaunched under theACC Network brand. Broadcast games were shown locally onover-the-air broadcast stations,regional sports networks, as well as streaming onESPN3 andWatchESPN.[1][2]
In July 2016, ESPN announced an extension of its contract and plans to launch anACC cable channel of the same name in 2019, and took ownership of the ACC rights that were previously sublicensed to Raycom. In anticipation of the new channel, the "ACC Network" branding during its syndicated telecasts was phased out in 2018. Although ESPN will continue to subcontract Raycom Sports resources for the new channel, Raycom's final syndicated ACC telecast—the2019 ACC men's basketball championship game—aired March 16, 2019.
ACC men's basketball had been broadcast by Raycom/JP Sports, a joint venture of Raycom Sports and Jefferson-Pilot Teleproductions, since the 1982–83 basketball season. The roots of the current package date to 1957, whenGreensboro businessman C.D. Chesley hastily assembled a five-station network to broadcastNorth Carolina's appearance in that year's Final Four.[3] The Tar Heels went on to win the national championship, and Chesley expanded to a full-season package for the 1957–58 season. Chelsey retained the rights until his retirement in 1981, and thenBaltimore-based Metrosports had the ACC rights just for the 1981–82 season.
The first ACC basketball telecast by Raycom/JP Sports was an early-season game between theVirginia Cavaliers and theDuke Blue Devils on the night of December 8, 1982.[4][5] It was uncertain whether this first broadcast was going to happen at all until the 9 p.m. tip-off; many East Coast network affiliates were unexpectedly carrying national coverage of ahostage situation at the Washington Monument, tying up theAT&T network lines required for Raycom to distribute the game.[6]
Jefferson-Pilot Teleproductions was the sole producer ofACC football beginning with the 1984 football season, but the Raycom/JP Sports joint venture began to include ACC football for the 2004 season.[7]
In 2006, JP Sports' parent company, the Jefferson Pilot Corporation, merged withLincoln National Corporation, taking the broadcasting and sports broadcasting divisions with it. JP Sports became Lincoln Financial Sports, thereby renaming the joint venture Raycom/LF Sports. Lincoln announced the sale of its media assets to Raycom Media in November 2007, making Raycom Sports the sole producer of all ACC projects and, from January 2008 until March 2009,SEC men's basketball and football.[8][9]
In 2010, ESPN acquired rights to ACC football and basketball, replacing Raycom. In a discussion between ACC commissionerJohn Swofford and then-ESPN presidentJohn Skipper, Swofford acknowledged Raycom's long-standing relationship with the conference, and requested that it continue to be involved in some way. ESPN negotiated a sublicensing agreement with Raycom, which would allow it to continue producing a syndicated package of ACC football and basketball broadcasts. As a condition of the deal, they were rebranded under the new on-air titleACC Network. As part of the agreement, Raycom also agreed to operate the ACC's website and digital properties. It was suggested that ESPN agreed to Raycom's involvement, so it would not create conflicts with theSEC Network—ESPN Regional Television's then-new package of syndicatedSoutheastern Conference football and basketball games, established after ESPN replaced Raycom as the SEC's main rightsholder besides CBS.[10][11]
Raycom began syndicating the ACC Network beyond the ACC footprint sometime between 2010 and 2013.[5][12] Beginning with the 2014–15 academic season, following the discontinuation of ESPN's syndicated SEC package after the launch of theSEC Network cable channel, Raycom expanded the ACC Network's distribution up to 84% of the entire United States.[2][13]
On July 21, 2016, ESPN announced a 20-year extension of its ACC rights, and that it would launch a new ACC cable network, also known asACC Network, in 2019, with its accompanying digital platform ACC Network Extra launching in the 2016–17 season.[14] As part of the establishment of the channel, ESPN acquired Raycom Sports' previous package of games.[15][16][17] Beginning with the2018 ACC football season, the ACC Network branding was dropped, and the telecasts began to use the Raycom Sports branding for the final season.
Raycom Sports will continue its role as the ACC's in-house digital media partner, and ESPN will subcontract production resources from Raycom Sports for the new channel.[18] Raycom's final syndicated ACC telecast was the2019 ACC men's basketball tournament final.[19]
Raycom Sports continues to produce select ACC games, however instead of being syndicated to OTA stations, these games were firstsyndicated toregional sports networks.Bally Sports—the package's charter affiliate—dropped the ACC package in 2023 amid its bankruptcy.[20] In turn,The CW acquired the package via its newly formedCW Sports division;[21] many of the network's affiliates had previously carried the syndicated ACC Network.
Upon its final season, ACC Network included:
Outside of the U.S., the telecasts could be received in Canada via historicsuperstations still carried on cable, such as Boston'sWSBK-TV, and during its final seasons,WPCH-TV in Atlanta (the former WTBS), as well as over-the-air signals receivable in border markets.
Primary source:[26]
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