The television contract between ESPN and the ACC was finally officially announced on Thursday afternoon, and it will feature approximately 4,800 ACC events over the course of 12 years on ESPN television outlets, digital and mobile platforms, syndication and more.
The contract begins during the 2011-12 season and runs through 2022-23. The deal includes football, men’s and women’s basketball, as well as the Olympic sports. ACC events will be aired on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ABC, ESPN3.com, ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN GamePlan, ESPN FULL COURT, ESPN International, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Classic, ESPN.com and the new ESPN 3D network.
In addition to all the games available on ESPN, Raycom Sports will also have ACC games through a new sub-license agreement.
Though no financial numbers were given in the release, the deal is rumored to be worth $155 million per year. That would put the ACC only behind the Big Ten and the SEC in television money.
In football, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ABC will continue to televise games on Saturday afternoons and nights, primetime on Thursday nights, as well as a yearly Labor Day matchup. The ACC Championship Game will also continue to be televised by the ESPN networks.
ESPN will sub-license football games to Raycom, which will be available throughout the ACC footprint. In addition, Raycom will produce games that will be available through regional cable syndication in the ACC markets and beyond. With ESPN holding exclusive rights to ACC football, more conference games will be available to a wider market than ever before.
ESPN will also show every single intra-conference men’s basketball game either on one of it’s networks, ESPN3 or ESPN MobileTV, or through sub-license to Raycom or other television networks. They will also offer many non-conference matchups, including a continuation of the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
ESPNU will now feature a weekly ACC Sunday telecast, while ESPN and ESPN2 will continue to feature the conference on Super Tuesday, Wednesday Night Hoops and Thursday Night Showcase, in addition to Saturday appearances.
In short, the new agreement means that every Virginia Tech ACC basketball game will be available somewhere on television, or on the internet. There will be no more random Virginia Tech-NC State or Virginia Tech-Miami games that are not available for viewing.
Thanks to the agreement with ESPN FULL COURT, ACC fans in non-market areas will also be able to catch ACC basketball games throughout the week. This means greater exposure for the conference in areas outside the ACC footprint.
Finally, the ACC Men’s Baksetball Tournament will also be televised by the ESPN family of networks and will no longer be subject to blackout in the ACC markets.
Women’s basketball will also get greater exposure. Select games will be televised by ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, and others will be offered by Raycom. The ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament semifinals and finals will also be part of the package. The finals will be broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2, while the semifinals will be available on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.
In addition to football and men’s and women’s basketball, the Olympic sports are also part of the deal. ESPN and ESPN2 will have first selection of regular season events throughout the year, and games will also be available on ESPNU.
The baseball and softball championship games will now be televised by ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU. ESPNU will also televised the lacrosse semifinals and finals, as well as the men’s and women’s soccer championships. Conference championship games for the other Olympic sports may also be picked up by the ESPN networks, or by Raycom.
For a complete look at the ACC/ESPN television deal, see the link at the bottom of the article.
Tahrick Peak to Texas Tech, Nubian Peak to Transfer
Incoming freshman linebacker Tahrick Peak has been released from his letter of intent. Instead of Blacksburg, he will head to Lubbock, TX where he will play for Texas Tech and new head coach Tommy Tuberville.
His brother, rising r-freshman Nubian Peak, has also decided to transfer. He has requested a release from his scholarship, and Virginia Tech has granted the request. It’s not known at this point whether or not he will follow his brother to Texas Tech. Peak was expected to compete for playing time on the kickoff return team this season.
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