So I have been keeping clear of posting on message boards for a while but I do have some thoughts around the pending ACC Network and the big elephants in the room which are the financial state of ESPN and what carriage the network will get.

First, let's talk carriage. ESPN claims that they have already been able to acquire carriage for the ACC Network but they are not yet perpared to disclose any of the carriers. This is probably true and I will bet that every singer carrier is an over the top carrier like Sling TV or YouTube or Playstation.

Let's be serious here, if any of the big MVPDs (Direct/Comcast/Spectrum/Cox/Dish) had signed on, we would be hearing about it at FULL volume. The carriage negotiations for these providers will likely come down to August 2019 when the network will begin publishing the telephone numbers of your favorite carrier so that you can berate their customer service reps about why their horrible company has not yet chosen to carry the ACC Network. The goal will obviously be to either sign Direct or Comcast/Charter first. Once they have bagged a big elephant, then they can try to shame the other big elephants in taking the deal.

The funny part about all of this is that the carriers already know if they are going to carry the network and will have everything in place to flip the switch far in advance of any contract signing.

When the SEC Network came along, I was sitting in meetings in conferernce rooms discussing how we were going to carry the programming long before any deal was ever announced. In fact, the Watch ESPN spider cam feed was OUR idea that we shopped to ESPN during the SEC Network lead up.

As for the financial health of ESPN, the stories about revenue shortcomings are quite prevalent and will not stop anytime soon. As cord cutting continues, ESPN revenues will continue to suffer. Sling is now offering a full a la carte package and it will be interesting to see if a la carte really comes around to hurt the 4-letter network.

As for the constant stream of rumors that the ACC Network is dead due to ESPN's current downward path, I must remind everyone that the addition of the ACC Network is EXACTLY what ESPN needs to improve revenue. Adding more subscription dollars for a new channel is a way to buffer against cord cutting and will help, not hurt, the network's finanical position. I am constantly amused by John Ourand from SBJ as he is desperate to make his "ACC Network will never happen" prediction come true. He is now writing that the net will never make it to air due to revenue pressures at ESPN. He was wrong about the network and has been wrong about every story ever since the network was announced. His thought is clearly that if you keep writing, maybe once you will get something right.

Finally, watching the ACC Network Extra via Watch ESPN is brutal. Quality is bad, commrecial integration is comical at best and overall, this is not ESPN/Disney quality. I sincerely hope that ESPN gets to work on making this a better experience as soon as possible.