The ACC Network Era Set to Begin

Few football seasons are more iconic than Boston College's 1984 campaign. Doug Flutie's Heisman Trophy provided the overscoring tune to the Eagles' 10-2 record and Cotton Bowl Classic win over Houston. BC became a top five team that year, and the game against Miami remains arguably the greatest college football game ever played. It was a season so memorable that it's still a hot topic, even though the "Flutie Effect" is now over 30 years old.

It's impossible to imagine a Heisman Trophy candidate or national championship-caliber team not earning national spotlight and television, but in 1984, that was the state of college athletics. BC played Miami on CBS that year, but live, network television was a rarity. The landscape was completely different, a sign of how teams could rarely draw television cameras regardless of success.

The next 30-plus years drastically altered and changed how sports are consumed. ESPN matured, and an ever-advancing technological world enabled more consumption of more sports in a quicker timetable. Today's sports world is barely recognizable, and the number of available networks and avenues continues to adapt to a diverse, exploding popularity.

On Thursday, the next phase of that evolution occurs when Boston College joins the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference in launching the ACC Network, a joint venture with ESPN responsible for producing league-exclusive content, every minute of every hour, every day.

"Commissioner (John) Swofford calls it a game changer for the Atlantic Coast Conference, and I believe that it is," said Stacie McCollum, the ACC Network's Senior Director of Programming and Acquisitions. "This conference has been consistently strong for a number of years, but it hit its stride, particularly in football, in the last five years. We've been the dominant basketball conference and are so deep across Olympic sports with field hockey, soccer and lacrosse."

The ACC Network becomes the instant showcase of a premier, power conference. The reigning football and men's basketball national champions are in the league, part of a conglomerate with seven national championships since 2015. It's a centerpiece of every college athletics circle, and on Thursday, the network will begin its journey in exposing the entire country to the competitive, high-caliber product within the ACC, including Boston College.

Meticulous Advancement

Thursday's launch traces roots formally back to 2016, when the ACC announced its intention to form a new network. The intention, though, took root in the years prior as college conferences began exploring new broadcast avenues for its programs. The Big Ten created the first joint-venture network with Fox Sports, and the SEC followed suit with its own network created by ESPN.

Sandwiched in between, Longhorn Network debuted as a joint venture between the University of Texas and ESPN, while the Pac-12 created its own network without outside collaboration. For its part, the ACC had an "ACC Network" package of syndication throughout regional networks, and ESPN had national broadcast rights. But there was no ACC-exclusive, 24/7 network like what the other conferences boasted.

"Conversations for the network began somewhere around 2014, but they really picked up in earnest in late 2015 and then during the first six months of 2016, when we were negotiating through the rights agreement," McCollum said. "Commissioner Swofford would probably tell you that it's been on his radar for a while, but the active conversation began (in) late 2014 and in earnest during that 2015 and 2016 (time period)."

The conversation and intention outlined a roadmap aimed at creating this week's television station. It began in 2016 by launching the "ACC Network Extra" digital broadcast on ESPN's online platform with approximately 750 live events in 2016. That number jumped over 800 in 2017 and continued a steady growth into the 900s last year. It helped build a broadcast schedule infrastructure, which in turn prepare a bilateral capability between the existing digital footprint and the upcoming linear network.

"This year, we're going over 950 and will end up around 1,000 (ACC events)," McCollum said. "That's a lot, but then you add another 450 events on the linear network, and we're looking at around 1,500 events being distributed across a linear and digital platform during the 2019-2020 season. That's tremendous."

It's a capable lift largely because of a phase-in, upgrade process of physical infrastructure across the ACC institutions. Each school needed to improve in its own right, either through upgrades or reinforcements to facilities. The physical infrastructure needed to meet requirements to produce live events on campus, a seamless substitute for the production trucks that roll across the country for national television.

At Boston College, it created a massive overhaul of equipment and physical build that remains largely invisible to fans. BC built three control rooms capable of handling linear (or "traditional broadcast television") broadcasts with full audio support. All three rooms can access and control all broadcast equipment, allowing for on-campus failover and ease of production of the product.

It required a significant and complex upgrade. Ninety-six strands of fiber stretched from Conte Forum to Brighton Campus, a number equaled in a stretch to Newton Campus. Four fiber transmission lines and three fiber return lines connect BC straight to ESPN's main office in Bristol, Connecticut, and new cameras included 16 total Grass Valley Cameras along with four Super Slo Motion cameras.

In addition, the school enhanced its audio with microphone capabilities at every production point, supported and produced through digital audio consoles. The combination of audio-visual upgrades created a need to enhance both electrical and wireless infrastructure throughout all athletics facilities, in order to support everything coming in, but the intention is to make the lines between types of broadcasts completely unrecognizable.

"13 of the schools already produced linear events for ESPN's other networks before we've even launched," McCollum said. "The schools invested in technology and facilities, so to a viewer, they won't know who is producing that show. They won't know if we rolled in a truck, if it's produced in a room in Bristol or if it's produced in a school's control room. That was a huge undertaking to find a solution to do that, and everyone stepped up. We couldn't be more proud of the ACC's institutions (for how they responded)."

None of that includes what took place at ESPN's main offices, where the network built a new studio specific to the ACC Network, hiring more than 100 full-time staff members for support. Using past experiences as a learning tool, ESPN skewed the ACC into more advanced technologies.

"We revealed a beautiful new studio about two weeks ago," McCollum said. "It was a huge undertaking from a number of departments, but we think it's very representative of the ACC, which leans heavily into technology and academic pieces. We have unique camera angles and LED screens. It's a little bit of a different approach, and I think it's different than anything that's been seen before, which (also goes) for our graphics package. We've taken a little bit of a different approach, and we've learned from the past when we've launched other networks."

It's designed to create a wholly unique experience for ACC fans that's different from other ESPN networks, including the SEC. It also means every sport - not just football or basketball - will receive a higher-class treatment in terms of permanent fixtures available for broadcasts.

"We increased our staff by 120 people that are dedicated to the ACC Network," McCollum said. "That doesn't include the people that are working on other products or services that are other leagues' rights holders. That's between Bristol, where the studio programming originates from, and the Charlotte office (for business personnel) as well."

New Media, New Distribution

All of that technology infrastructure is an explosion of new possibilities, but television stations are nothing if people can't actually watch them. Continuing its trend of forward thinking, the ACC Network wanted to make sure it could reach as many fans as possible. So when it came to look into distribution, it looked into new, emerging windows of opportunity.

When it launches, the ACC Network will still be available on traditionally-recognized distributors like Spectrum and Verizon Fios, but a desire for innovation pushed it beyond the old-fashioned cable box. Because an increasing number of subscribers are cutting cords in favor of new cable providers, the ACC Network linked up with satellite provider DirecTV and cordless video producers like Google Fiber, Hulu Live, Sony PlayStation Vue and YouTubeTV.

This completely streamlines a new broadcast geography. Cord-cutter companies operate without the same physical restrictions as regional providers, having instead focused on streamlined approaches. Their popularity exploded, even in the last two years, and the pointed measure to get ACC Network onto those distributors is a distinct advantage over networks who are later adopters.

"It's a different landscape in a couple of different ways because there are more options," McCollum said. "We believe that this helps us. Because of the additions of YouTube TV or Hulu Live or Sony Vue, you're not necessarily beholden to your geographic footprint. The days are gone where you don't have access to content if your cable territory doesn't carry a network.

"These options allow people to access ACC Network regardless of where they are, and (we learned how) some are incredible easy to access," she explained. "Something like Hulu Live can be accessed in five minutes. You log on, create a user name, enter a credit card, and you're off and running. That's different, but it's a positive because we can provide (more) options for the network launch."

It's a critical factor in the ACC Network's true impact in every sport. In football, a Boston College game might have been on ESPN, but its regional coverage likely clashed against other, out-of-market games in the same time slot. The ACC Network, though, guarantees a national reach in each of its time slots. Those slots are now distributed instantly through different markets, and the cord-cutting provider makes it easier to reach any distributor in geography formerly considered "out-of-market."

That's an approach capable of drastically altering the market but keeping pace with recent technological advancements. In 2019, readily-available media is accessible at a second's notice. Smaller devices now have greater capabilities. Products must be ready to reach those capabilities' full potential at all times.

"I helped launch Longhorn Network in 2011, and (the explosion of availability) happened very quickly," McCollum said. "The fans' expectation, in terms of availability, very quickly changed. Once games became available everywhere, it all flipped. If a game wasn't available, then something was wrong. The expectation became that the conference fans wanted would be available any time they wanted it."

That drove the desire for innovation, and it impacted the infrastructure and technological efforts of both ESPN and the ACC. It's a big reason why the ACC Network will change how its sports are consumed. Every athletics event requires the same high-level of production, regardless of platform or distributor or viewing technology. The seamless production experience became a requirement in order to hit the goal in distribution, and the distribution is justifying the importance of the investment in production value.

The Impact

The final product is a complete transformation in how ACC sports are consumed. Football and basketball remain featured cornerstones, but the studio and site-level improvements reflect the opportunities available to every college sport. It's a completely different world from what existed 10 or 20 years ago, and it likely doesn't resemble much of anything beyond that.

"Last year, I was cleaning out my office and found a VHS tape with the 1996 ACC semifinal that I played in with Wake Forest," BC women's soccer head coach Jason Lowe said. "It was a game at Virginia, and it was the one game on TV. It was the 'game of the week' and the only game on that entire week. It showcased the end of the ACC Tournament and then maybe we got the NCAA Tournament. Other than that, the only game available was an old Brad Friedel game at UCLA (from the early 1990s). Beyond that, there was nothing."

As part of its approach, the ACC Network mined data about a sport's fan base to create an analytics-driven approach. The data found that fan bases skew passionate and avid for individual sports, creating required factors as to how the network schedules for a particular sport.

"Last year, ESPN's networks (only televised) a handful of ACC 'Olympic sports,'" McCollum said. "This year, women's soccer in the fall schedule alone will undergo a 95% lift in terms of linear exposure. For men's soccer, it's a 92% increase in the number of men's linear events. The Olympic sports are a big priority for us, to make sure that nearly all of the ACC championships have live coverage on the linear network. Some of the championship games will still move to ESPNU, but it's a huge, big piece."

"It's a priority for us on the ESPN side to work on ACC Network, but it's a priority for the conference to showcase some of the other sports," she elaborated. "I played volleyball for a small school in Texas, and when I think of the opportunity for parents and friends to watch sports that are traditionally underserved, I personally take a lot of pride. I am very excited for that."

It creates a scenario where Boston College can reach previously untouchable markets. The ACC Network's technology will provide top-caliber broadcasts regardless of location, and the distribution will make the sports available anywhere. It means a prospective player or fan of a sport might not be able to watch a team from his or her home market, but an ACC team will be readily available to fill the void.

"That's the reason we are so excited about our distribution efforts," McCollum echoed. "National providers like DirecTV, YouTube TV, Hulu Live - they all have national footprints. That makes Boston College events more available in the Southeast where they might not have had exposure before. Boston College can receive exposure in Los Angeles and Dallas/Fort Worth and other parts of the country that previously were unable to watch the Eagles."

It generates impact in both popularity and recruitment into the ACC - and Boston College in particular. Soccer, for example, is steadily increasing in popularity, and more leagues are being broadcast than ever. The recent Women's World Cup generated impressive ratings as the United States won the championship with a roster filled by eight former ACC athletes. Nine other former or current ACC athletes dotted other nations' rosters, including BC's Allyson Swaby for Jamaica.

"For our fans, for our people that can't make it to games, our brand is stretching well beyond (the ACC borders)," Lowe said. "That our brand can reach Texas, California and everywhere is incredible. Players and fans come in so much more knowledgeable because information is much easier to access. Having a Thursday night slot for a game of the week or two games of the week, players will know where to chime in and tune in."

Baseball provides another different, nuanced example. Major League Baseball franchises selected 69 ACC players in the 2019 MLB Entry Draft, including five on the first day and three in the first round. The number of available games exploded over the last couple of years to over 400, an amount more than double from 2016. It's not coincidental that it became a part of the fabric, but it is a little surprising how natural it came to a generation raised in new media.

"It's amazing to see how comfortable our guys are with television because so many of our games are televised," Gambino said. "Whether it's the red hat down the line waiting for commercial or an umpire checking replay or an interview, it's amazing to see how fast it became a part of their lives.

"For anyone that's following the program or a kid that we're recruiting, or families or former players, everyone, you used to have to check Twitter or wait to see scores the next day," he continued. "Now, with ACC Network, you're going to be able to watch the games."

It's a continually increasing presence offering unlimited opportunity and potential to Boston College. The question isn't if BC will draw a television audience anymore; it's now often. There's a sentiment of change for the entire community, and it's something that provides perspective. The entire landscape is about to change, thanks to a revolutionary venture without walls or limits.

"The investment in the student-athlete isn't recognizable to 20 years ago, and that's awesome," Gambino said. "The investment of time and money and work hours and people that they had to do to get this ready is awesome. From Father Leahy to Martin Jarmond and the entire staff, that type of investment in our athletes is our awesome. It's just exciting, especially for our women's sports. Our women's sports are unbelievable, from lacrosse to field hockey to soccer to volleyball. For them to get more attention and for people to realize how good they are, with their games being broadcast, it's awesome."

"It really is (a game changer)," McCollum said. "It's the fruition of a lot of hard work and will shine a spotlight on the strength of this conference. It's a great opportunity and something this league is deserving of. I'm excited for people to sample more about the conference and to learn more about the conference."

The ACC Network launches at 7 p.m. on Thursday night. To find out how you can be a part of the channel, visit www.getaccn.com.

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