Conference Network and ACC Expansion, Part One

There has been talk emanating from ACC offices for its own network ever since the Big Ten Network (BTN ) got off the ground and ESPN paid a Tsar's ransom for SEC programming.

Those who doubt that it could get off the ground, much less be successful, understand only the Big Ten/SEC model: the major networks will pay the biggest money to the conferences with the largest football attendance (see schools like Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State). That network money for football makes it possible to create a viable and financially successful conference network.

The ACC model necessarily would be different from the outset. In fact, the ACC model would show the weakness of the Big Ten model.

Because the Big Ten gets so much TV exposure for both football and basketball, it has precious little live coverage of either of those sports. That means that once the novelty of the BTN wears off, people will avoid it like the plague—unless the Big Ten can provide live coverage of high quality non-revenue sports (often referred to as "Olympic sports").

The clear number three college sport, the one with the largest fan base and the most potential for future revenue growth for three or four conferences (depending on whether the Big 12 survives), is baseball.

A conference that plays great baseball and has a network can televise dozens of games throughout the season, even factoring in games now shown on ESPN or Fox. As the college baseball season begins when college basketball is ongoing, major networks will show basketball, while the conference network would show baseball.

The Big Ten is not among those top baseball conferences. The ACC is. An ACC Network showing a great deal of live baseball would draw not only ACC fans, but fans of college baseball in general.

The fastest growing team sport in both college and more important, high school, is lacrosse. While lacrosse has begun to receive much more TV coverage—thanks to the wisdom of ESPN—the fact is that a conference with multiple lacrosse powers could show several games of note that will not be on ESPN. Four of the seven or eight most important lacrosse programs in the country are in the ACC .

The biggest team sport in the world is soccer. We are past the days when anyone would predict that soccer would overtake any of the three grand team sports in America. But Soccer remains a force and can easily grow if it receives enough television coverage.

The ACC is great in both men's and women's soccer.

In addition to sports such as field hockey, tennis, and golf that feature first rate ACC competition, the ACC has Boston College hockey.

College hockey fans remain in denial about the scope of college baseball and the rise of lacrosse. Hockey is limited geographically, but the passion is great. BC is the only current ACC school that plays hockey, but BC is the National Champion and has a huge following.

An ACC network would be able to televise many BC hockey games live, thereby drawing interest from general college hockey fans.

Then there is the ACC "weakness" compared to the SEC and Big Ten: the ACC cannot get as many football games on major network TV. Therefore, an ACC network could show one or two live football games, and that many basketball games, per week.

Quite simply, an ACC  network would broadcast considerably more quality live sports than the BTN . An ACC network would not generate as much revenue as the BTN , but it would be profitable and it would showcase the many non-revenue sports that are as important to the ACC as are football and basketball.

Part Two will address ACC expansion: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/408129-conference-network-and-acc-expansion-part-2