He was asked point blank the following question:

"The SEC network is now huge and the Big 10 network has emerged from some lean years at the beginning to a major revenue addition to that league. There are even reports now that the Longhorn Network may earn a profit in the near future. Where is the ACC Network? What is the timeline for a network coming online?"

Bobinski's answer: The league is studying the issue and you should reserve your questions to Mr. Swofford."

Chuck Oliver (680 The Fan ATL): So you have nothing to say?

Bobkinski: As I stated, all questions on this subject need to go to Mr. Swofford.


So, since I know a lot about this stuff and have had a couple of days to think about this since I have been under the weather and in a generally bad mood, I decided to come forward with what I would do to get this thing off the rails.

If I were the ACC, I would make a proposal to ESPN to buy out a portion of the media rights for football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, and all other olympic sports. I would see if they will go for a price. I would see if I could keep 2 football games per week in the ESPN platform and even give them selection rights on 2 games each week with the new rights holder getting selection 1 and all of the other selections following the 2 ESPN picks. I would give them ownership of 6 conference basketball games per week again with first selection rights on what they want to broadcast. I would also flat out buy the content from Raycom or even buy the sports division of Raycom if need be.

If they bite, I would then turn around and sell those rights to Comcast/NBCU/NBC Sports Group with the express agreement that an ACC Network must be up and running by the 2017 football season. NBC will also have the chance to show a national ACC game each week on NBC during weeks where ND is on the road or an ACC/ND doubleheader on weeks where ND is home. This would include a prime time game on Saturday night between the ACC and ND properties. All other games will air on NBCSN, the ACC Network, or other Comcast RSNs.

NBC will air basketball games on Saturday and Sunday. Other games will air on NBCSN, the ACC Network, and other Comcast RSNs. The ACC Tournament will air on NBCSN/ACC Network with the Saturday final airing on NBC.

Now, let's talk carriage. Since Comcast will own the ACC Network, carriage on Comcast systems will be automatic and will surely be on a basic tier. Cox is heavily in bed with Comcast in using the X-1 platform so I would assume that carriage on Cox will happen with little resistance. I would expect that clearance for Charter (TWC and Brighthouse) will come along fairly easily as well since this will be a Comcast product. The cable companies actually like each other.

Now the satellite folks are another story. There is a long history of challenge between Comcast properties and AT&T/DirectTV. Also, Dish may be a bit of a challenge to get on without some challenging negotiation. I have no idea if Verizon will be a difficult negotiation.

As an alternative, I would propose that the ACC network become the first conference network to have a full over-the-top option for access. The network would be available on Roku, AppleTV, etc. You can charge 9.95 per month for the OTT service and it is available for anyone. This will serve the cord cutter market and can also be a threat to the satellite and telco guys to get this thing on the air as their customers will not fight a $0.85 per month charge on their cable bills but will not be happy with having to pay $10 per month without it.

There is my plan...take your shots now.



[Post edited by CobbCountyHokie at 02/04/2016 10:03AM]