Last week, we were all pretty enthusiastic about ESPN and the ACC's joint announcement on the ACC Network. This week, we still can and should be. But industry experts are also diving into the potential pitfalls this network could have when it finally hits cable and satellite packages in 2019.
Sports Business Journal's John Ourand dove into the issue of introducing a conference television network as cord-cutting continues to grow among consumers. And... you're not going to like the challenges he spells out.
The two biggest ones:
Timing
"ESPN could cut individual ACC Network deals, but most programmers and distributors like to wait until their big affiliate deals expire — and ESPN’s biggest ones aren’t up until several years after ACC Network’s planned 2019 launch.