Pittsburgh AD says ACC Network on the Horizon.

I only post this because every 12 months or so the ACC loves to pretend all is well when it comes to pretend revenue coming....while the SEC announces actual revenue.

So here is the latest pretend "we are studying things"....which the ACC has been studying for almost 10 years now.


http://allsportsdiscussion.com/2016/01/20/pittsburgh-ad-says-acc-network-on-the-horizon/


With news of the SEC’s whopping $457 million conference member distribution for the 2014-2015 year, the pressure increases on John Swofford and the ACC to find an additional revenue generator for it’s member schools.
Now without getting into the depth of ESPN’s woes, cord cutting, etc, conference networks are still making money. The SEC and Big 10 networks are producing $5-$8 Million a year, and even the struggling Pac 12 network provides about $1 million per school. The much maligned Longhorn Network is expected to turn a profit in 2016.   
Wednesday some interesting news came from Pittsburgh AD Scott Barnes regarding a possible ACC network during a “town hall” meeting with Pittsburgh fans.

On the possibility of expanding the ACC Network

ACC television is a work in progress, progress is being made. It’s on the horizon. I can’t get into the details of where that sits other than to say I think we all feel like progress is being made. It’s an interesting topic because what you need is a lot of cuts, cutting back with programming and whatnot, but at the end of the day, an organization like ESPN wants more than anything a chance to generate revenue, and the ACC is a great opportunity to generate revenue. We’ll ultimately get there in our TV contract, and I’m confident in that.

Now skeptics will say, oh just more of the same. Vague comments of progress, if it was going to happen it would have already happened. I probably wouldn’t be able to convince a skeptic just based on these comments, but let me ask you this.

Why make those comments if you are the Pittsburgh AD? Barnes responsibility is to Pittsburgh and it’s fans first, not the ACC. If Barnes is unhappy with the ACC ala the Oklahoma’s AD recent Big 12 rants, a public forum gave him that chance, to either criticize the ACC or say nothing. Barnes did neither. He has no reason to say anything positive about an ACC Network if he didn’t feel that something was in works.

I’ll let you judge for yourself if what Barnes says is encouraging. I think it is.