My views are this, the ACC missed the boat. At one time, it would of been wise. Possibly provided decent revenue and exposure. Now the ACC is crapped on by their own TV network and are about to see a huge revenue gap appear. At this point, I think it might be best for the ACC to just wait for all contracts to expire (GOR and TV contract) and if the conference is still together (which I doubt), then bid out the contract and move away from a TV network that views you as the competition to the SEC and hope competition gets you revenue that is competitive.
2009
2010
http://espn.go.com/espn/print?id=5363743
"Partnering with ESPN ends talk for now about the ACC following the lead of the Big Ten by creating its own television network. Commissioner John Swofford said the league did its "due diligence" by researching the issue, but said the ACC opted to avoid the upfront startup costs and the financial risk in favor of utilizing ESPN's in-place broadcast and multimedia outlets.
"When you go with somebody for that kind of money with no financial risk and they have the extensive platforms they have to distribute your games -- plus they have the technology and the desire to be on the cutting edge with new media -- it really begs the question: Why would you need your own network?" Swofford said."
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2010/10/04/daily3.html?page=all
The problem was that Raycom couldn’t compete financially with bigger national TV networks, like ESPN and Fox, who also wanted the ACC’s rights. So Raycom decided to rely on the deep, personal relationships it developed over its three-decade relationship with the conference.
ESPN’s John Skipper recognized the power of those ties early in his talks with Commissioner John Swofford last spring.
Skipper, ESPN’s executive vice president for content and a North Carolina graduate, recalled sitting with Swofford on the brick patio outside the stately Washington Duke Inn, just hours before tip-off of the Duke-North Carolina basketball game.
Underneath the swaying pine trees, Skipper asked Swofford what ESPN could do to secure a deal.
“It would be our preference,” Swofford told Skipper, “if ESPN could construct something that would keep us in business with Raycom.”
“So we did,” Skipper said.
2012
https://twitter.com/davidteelatdp/status/273791343069896705
David Teel
ACC commish John Swofford told me last month league is exploring possible channel with ESPN.
2013
http://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/2013/08/acc-network-update.html
"The ACC considered this in 2007, but decided against launching an all-ACC network at that time (the SEC, btw, made the same decision at that time). "
"Most experts feel that some form of all-ACC Network is inevitable. Some feel that it might not be a traditional cable TV channel, however (see "ACC TV channel’s launch not basic cable" by Andrew Carter, Charlotte Observer - LINK)
If the ACC Channel does happen, it won't be soon. The SEC network will have taken 4 years by the time it launches in the Fall of 2014. 2017 has been suggested as a plausible target date.
Even so, everyone needs to keep in mind that it likely won't be profitable right away. This is a business venture; these things take time to grow.
* Other major conferences are already pursuing cable channels.
- The Big Ten Network pays about $7M/year per school.
- The Pac-12 Network began last year.
- The SEC will launch its own network next August.
- Only the Big 12 has so far declined to pursue a network.
TALLAHASSEE — More than two years of passionate, rampant speculation about Florida State University 's future with the Atlantic Coast Conference came to a screeching halt Monday with the announcement that the league's presidents had unanimously agreed to a pact that effectively locks in all 15 schools through at least 2027.
The agreement, called a grant of media rights, requires any university leaving the ACC to forfeit all of its television revenue — hundreds of millions of dollars — through the length of the contract.
While some FSU fans claim to feel betrayed by President Eric Barron and the university's board of trustees — the ACC is an inferior league, they say, and there's far more money and prestige to be gained in the football-powerhouse Southeastern Conference — Barron and his board did not agree to stay put in a last-minute, dark-of-night deal.
Quite the opposite.
The wooing of Florida State and its rich football tradition was vital to the recently expanded ACC's ability to renegotiate a top-dollar, long-term deal with ESPN, the network that holds broadcast rights to most of college football.
ACC Commissioner John Swofford needed buy-in from FSU, so he and the league's TV consultant, Dean Jordan, made two previously unreported trips to Tallahassee during a six-week period before the conference sealed its deal with ESPN last week.
How it unfolded
Barron and the trustees were scheduled to discuss FSU's future with the ACC during a workshop March 7 at the university's marine lab in St. Teresa, Fla. The conference landscape had been shifting constantly for more than two years.
The ACC had added Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Louisville and Notre Dame (as a partial member). The Big East was imploding, and rumors were circulating nonstop that FSU was being courted by the Big 12, Big Ten or SEC.
Barron knew his trustees were hearing it from various stakeholders on a daily basis. He understood they had questions and concerns.
Rather than try to provide answers himself, Barron decided it might be better if Swofford could update the board personally and clarify the many misconceptions circulating on Internet blogs and message boards.
Swofford was happy to oblige. But instead of attending the public workshop in St. Teresa, he and Jordan opted to meet one-on-one with any trustees who might be interested the day before, March 6, at FSU's Turnbull Center. By meeting individually, those discussions were kept private, legally circumventing the state's sunshine laws.
It is believed every trustee except Joseph Camps, and the faculty and student board members, came for individual meetings with Swofford and Jordan.
Camps, a urologist, is a former FSU football player and a past chairman of Seminole Boosters Inc., the fundraising arm of FSU athletics. Because his busy medical practice would not permit him to stop by March 6, Barron brought Swofford to Camps' home in north Tallahassee for dinner the night before.
It was that important to Barron and Swofford that Camps receive an opportunity to question the commissioner and share his concerns about FSU's future with the ACC.
"The trustees were hearing a lot of stories that this school might bolt or that school might," said Allan Bense , chairman of the FSU board. "I thought the commissioner provided us with a lot of good, useful information."
Andy Haggard, a Miami attorney and former board chair who a year earlier fueled speculation that FSU might be eager to explore offers from other conferences, came away from the meeting with Swofford and Jordan feeling much better.
"It all came down to what was best for Florida State. I wanted to make sure he (Swofford) was investigating the possibility of getting the best deal he could with ESPN," Haggard said.
By the morning of March 7, the agenda for the trustees' workshop had been revised. Discussion of the ACC had been removed, without mention of the individual meetings during the previous 48 hours.
"This actually preceded the notion of any grant of rights, or anything else," Barron explained this week. "It was me merely trying to keep my board informed."
While the ACC's negotiations with ESPN — and its efforts to create a separate, lucrative ACC Network — were ongoing, Swofford's meetings with the FSU trustees came at a fortuitous time. Less than six weeks later, on April 13, Swofford and Jordan were back in Tallahassee for FSU's spring football game, which coincided with a meeting of the board of Seminole Boosters.
While more than 25,000 fans flooded into Doak Campbell Stadium to get a sneak preview of the 2013 Seminoles, few if any could have known that the conference's commissioner was in their midst, trying to convince one more faction that FSU belonged in the ACC for the long haul.
"We're all concerned about being able to compete with the other conferences from a revenue standpoint," saod Andy Miller, president and CEO of Seminole Boosters. "He (Swofford) assured the board that the moves they've been making have put us in a competitive range of other conferences."
ACC vs. SEC
While it hasn't been a popular opinion, Barron has never hid his belief that the ACC is Florida State's right home — at least in the current environment.
In September 2011, the Tallahassee Democrat published a series of emails Barron wrote to frustrated fans who were demanding a move to the SEC.
The hot-button topic then was the lack of excitement surrounding ACC football, while the SEC was in the midst of a record run of national championships.
Then last May, after trustee Haggard set off a firestorm by blasting the ACC's new television contract and saying FSU officials owed it to the school to see "what the Big 12 might have to offer," Barron sent a widely circulated email outlining the pros and cons of such a move.
"We can't afford to have conference affiliation be governed by emotion — it has to be based on a careful assessment of athletics, finances and academics," Barron wrote. "I assure you that every aspect of conference affiliation will be looked at by this institution, but it must be a reasoned decision."
Since that time, Barron and FSU officials apparently have done just that, including exploring the possibility of joining the likes of Florida, Alabama and LSU in the SEC.
While it's difficult to confirm how far those talks advanced, FSU officials came away with the understanding that the SEC saw little financial incentive to adding the Seminoles. Bringing FSU aboard would neither expand television markets nor open recruiting territories.
"If you go look at all the realignments that have occurred, with maybe one exception, (they have) been to add a new state — a new territory," Barron said. "You look at what the SEC did; they go for Missouri and Texas. You look at the Big Ten; they hit Nebraska first, then Maryland and Rutgers in the New Jersey/New York market. So basically, they added contiguous real estate."
Even if the SEC or another conference had turned up the heat, Barron never was convinced that the dollars would have piled up the way the public believes.
"Typically, when we hear about the SEC's numbers, it's every apple and orange (factored) into that pool," Barron said.
"And typically, when you hear about ACC numbers, you're hearing about what people are speculating about the TV contract, the details of which are not public information."
Asked about Swofford's trips to Tallahassee, an ACC official described them as an effort to provide facts and answer questions — to make sure FSU's leaders had correct and current information when forming their opinions — not necessarily to sell a plan or grease a squeaky wheel.
Either way, that apparently was the result.
In separate interviews, Barron, trustees and boosters said Swofford's visits helped smooth over lingering concerns about the conference's future.
The trips were unique but not unprecedented. Within the past year, the ACC confirmed, Swofford made similar visits to Clemson and Virginia — two of many schools rumored to be flirting with other conferences.
With Jordan leading the ACC's efforts to establish its own lucrative cable channel, similar to what the Big Ten enjoys, Barron is convinced the revenue coming from the conference could grow by leaps and bounds. But he added that ESPN would not even pursue that as long as the ACC was viewed as unstable.
"The huge differentiator is a network," Barron said. "The Big Ten Network is the biggest differentiator in finances going into a conference budget. I believe the SEC is busily working at it, and so is the ACC."
No more speculation
FSU trustees Joe Gruters and Mark Hillis came away from their meetings with Swofford in agreement with Barron's decision last week to join the other ACC presidents in the new pact.
"What is on the minds of a lot of people is, is the ACC the conference that gives us the best opportunity to compete over the long term?" Gruters, FSU's youngest trustee, said. "At the end of the day, I think the ACC negotiated a good deal with ESPN and levels the playing field with the rest of the conferences."
Before last week's deal, FSU and other ACC schools each received about $17 million annually in TV revenue. That number is expected to increase by at least $3 million with the new deal; the pending ACC Network would mean untold additional millions.
Hillis, a retired bank executive who has long been active with the FSU Foundation and Boosters, is glad to see the ACC stabilized at last. He also is delighted to see the revenue heading in a better direction for his alma mater.
"I was in concert with President Barron that this was the best thing that could happen," Hillis said. "It ensures that we don't lose any members. Nobody can afford to leave now."
Barron said he knows the new deal will not appease all FSU football fans, but he acknowledged that it's a relief to have resolution to an issue that has occupied much of his time during his three-plus years as president.
"We've had a lot of speculation for a couple years now about what Florida State was going to do," Barron said. "I believe we're done talking about this."
Doug Blackburn and Ira Schoffel also write for the Tallahassee Democrat .
2014
"Four years ago, the ACC decided to stick with a mix of ESPN and its traditional Raycom syndication rather than pursue its own network, but the landscape continues to change. "
10. There is going to be an ACC Network, and sooner rather than later.
Commissioner John Swofford headed off questions about a potential network dedicated exclusively to ACC programming by addressing it in the opening comments of his semi-annual forum Sunday.
But it’s clear from those comments that he’s confident his dream of an ACC Network will eventually become a reality.
Swofford said that the league will “continue to strategically evaluate whether (an ACC Network) makes sense for our conference and whether it makes sense for our television partner, ESPN.” What that means is they’re going to wait and see how things go with ESPN’s newly launched SEC Network. Once that’s up and running, work will begin on the ACC’s own cash cow.
Considering the number of potential viewers in the ACC’s ever-expanding geographic footprint and the reach of the league’s current syndicated package – administered by its other television partner, Raycom – a dedicated ACC Network could significantly increase the annual payouts each conference school receives.
“I think the combination of the quality of institutions and their athletic programs, our
marketplace opportunities and the population numbers, both current and projected, give the ACC enormous potential in both the near and distant future,” Swofford said.
2015
http://www.myajc.com/news/sports/college/acc-channel-launch-facing-delay/npBsW/
"The launch of an ACC network run in partnership with ESPN, which has been expected for 2017, will likely take longer than expected."
"It is a significant reason why the ACC and member schools are interested in their own network, similar to cable channels for the Big Ten and SEC. Both conferences have seen television revenues increase dramatically after the start of their networks. This past May, for instance, the SEC projected revenues of $31.2 million per school for the 2014-15 fiscal year, a 49 percent jump from the previous year due in no small part to the launch of the SEC Network in 2014."
http://www.tigernet.com/story/football/Swofford-addressed-league-financials-ACC-Network-13892
Television partners
“I know you are interested in our television going forward and the potential of the ACC Channel. We continue to have quality discussions with ESPN, and ESPN is as good a partner as you can possibly have and they will be our partner through at least 2026-27. They along with our other partners bring outstanding exposure for our players, for our teams, for our schools and for our league. At some point, as we go through our analysis and discussions and we're being very thorough and deliberate about that, because it's an important long-term decision, but together we'll make a joint decision about the best route to go for the future of our television as we move forward.“It's a very important decision as you know, and I think we have positioned ourselves extremely well as a league for future options, whatever those options may be. So those continue. Now, these days are filled with ACC football and I think there's a lot of reason to look ahead to this season with anticipation. Scheduling and I've talked about this in past years in terms of the importance of our school scheduling -- they have scheduled those games and we have won our share of those, playing quality teams and winning games is important, obviously, and the last several years gives us I think a platform and success. There is no shortage of specialty games Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, Monday night that give our programs outstanding exposure and we are tremendously pleased with the partners that we work with and the great job that they do in showcasing our coaches, our players and our teams; ESPN, the ACC network and the regional Fox Sports network, is as good as you can get and our ratings have been very strong with our partners. So we are very pleased with that part of what's happening with Atlantic Coast Conference football.”Seemed like for a decade we talked about the ACC Network -- why hasn't it happened yet?“You mean a channel? We have a network. A 24/7 channel? I think that we had -- you have to evaluate your own league and where you are in the marketplace, and timing always comes into play, what's happening in the marketplace when your contracts are up. So far, at each turn, our best decision has been to do what basically we've been doing. It's changed over the years -- look at with our partners, and now have the league -- to enhance opportunities, more certainly than we would have otherwise. That's what I meant in my comment that we have positioned ourselves very well. These are long-term visions and I like where they are and I think we will continue aggressively in terms of these discussions to reach a point where our partners and us together, we've got the right format to take us into future decades, literally.”You mentioned the financials. Your most recent tax returns showed a large discrepancy -- for lack of a better word. Do you foresee a problem in the future? Is this going to become another arm's race for the amounts of money that are out there, and is there a plan or a need to keep up?‘I think there is. We want to keep up and there are different models. When you go in the channel direction, obviously translates directly to -- if that falls short, those revenue projections change and we've looked at a number of channels and some have started really, really slow and then evolved into something very good. Some have started right out of the chute very quickly and successfully. Some have a lot of fanfare and some -- you have channels that don't have partners and you have some channels that do have partners. We'll just have to see again. I don't think you can be any more analytical or any more thorough in our evaluation with our partners on that issue going forward.”“It's gotten in other ways, when you talk about television, you have some conferences that have really high expenses that offset those dollars coming in and then you have other conferences that are receiving those dollars straight up. You know, it's understanding the nuances of television -- and that industry from the outside looking in is not easy.”
"The launch of an ACC network run in partnership with ESPN, which has been expected for 2017, will likely take longer than expected."
"It is a significant reason why the ACC and member schools are interested in their own network, similar to cable channels for the Big Ten and SEC. Both conferences have seen television revenues increase dramatically after the start of their networks. This past May, for instance, the SEC projected revenues of $31.2 million per school for the 2014-15 fiscal year, a 49 percent jump from the previous year due in no small part to the launch of the SEC Network in 2014."
http://www.tigernet.com/story/football/Swofford-addressed-league-financials-ACC-Network-13892
Television partners
“I know you are interested in our television going forward and the potential of the ACC Channel. We continue to have quality discussions with ESPN, and ESPN is as good a partner as you can possibly have and they will be our partner through at least 2026-27. They along with our other partners bring outstanding exposure for our players, for our teams, for our schools and for our league. At some point, as we go through our analysis and discussions and we're being very thorough and deliberate about that, because it's an important long-term decision, but together we'll make a joint decision about the best route to go for the future of our television as we move forward.“It's a very important decision as you know, and I think we have positioned ourselves extremely well as a league for future options, whatever those options may be. So those continue. Now, these days are filled with ACC football and I think there's a lot of reason to look ahead to this season with anticipation. Scheduling and I've talked about this in past years in terms of the importance of our school scheduling -- they have scheduled those games and we have won our share of those, playing quality teams and winning games is important, obviously, and the last several years gives us I think a platform and success. There is no shortage of specialty games Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, Monday night that give our programs outstanding exposure and we are tremendously pleased with the partners that we work with and the great job that they do in showcasing our coaches, our players and our teams; ESPN, the ACC network and the regional Fox Sports network, is as good as you can get and our ratings have been very strong with our partners. So we are very pleased with that part of what's happening with Atlantic Coast Conference football.”Seemed like for a decade we talked about the ACC Network -- why hasn't it happened yet?“You mean a channel? We have a network. A 24/7 channel? I think that we had -- you have to evaluate your own league and where you are in the marketplace, and timing always comes into play, what's happening in the marketplace when your contracts are up. So far, at each turn, our best decision has been to do what basically we've been doing. It's changed over the years -- look at with our partners, and now have the league -- to enhance opportunities, more certainly than we would have otherwise. That's what I meant in my comment that we have positioned ourselves very well. These are long-term visions and I like where they are and I think we will continue aggressively in terms of these discussions to reach a point where our partners and us together, we've got the right format to take us into future decades, literally.”You mentioned the financials. Your most recent tax returns showed a large discrepancy -- for lack of a better word. Do you foresee a problem in the future? Is this going to become another arm's race for the amounts of money that are out there, and is there a plan or a need to keep up?‘I think there is. We want to keep up and there are different models. When you go in the channel direction, obviously translates directly to -- if that falls short, those revenue projections change and we've looked at a number of channels and some have started really, really slow and then evolved into something very good. Some have started right out of the chute very quickly and successfully. Some have a lot of fanfare and some -- you have channels that don't have partners and you have some channels that do have partners. We'll just have to see again. I don't think you can be any more analytical or any more thorough in our evaluation with our partners on that issue going forward.”“It's gotten in other ways, when you talk about television, you have some conferences that have really high expenses that offset those dollars coming in and then you have other conferences that are receiving those dollars straight up. You know, it's understanding the nuances of television -- and that industry from the outside looking in is not easy.”
He got this statement from John Swofford.
“Anything said surrounding our ongoing television discussions is premature and speculative,” he said. “If, or when, we reach a point where our television agreements have been altered, we will make an announcement at the appropriate time.”
As vague as ever from Swofford.So what did @DavidTeelatDP have to say in response to the Network Delay news?
# …sound like the parties have decided to pursue a channel. That in of itself is good news for the ACC, whose schools need a revenue infusion
Actually that does seem to be true. Though now it is easier of to be skeptical ESPN’s true intentions as I said yesterday. I’ll trust Teel on this one.
Here’s more…
# Also unknown is how much ESPN might increase the rights fees it pays the ACC in the interim before a channel. Swofford alluded to such a possibility during an interview in July at the ACC’s football kickoff in Pinehurst, N.C.
Ok the ACC won’t go empty handed on this one, but that increase better be at least $2 or $3 Million.
Here is Teel’s final comment and it is one I hope the ACC and John Swofford are paying attention too.
# Peterson’s comments to his board may startle some school administrators – the inner circle on the channel project is limited — and the sooner Swofford can ease those concerns with definitive information, the better.
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