Over the summer,
USC and UCLA announced their plans to join the Big Ten. Since then, there have
been rumors of mega-conferences and it has left conferences like the ACC,
Pac-12 and Big XII scrambling to figure out what to do next to avoid being left
in the dust by the SEC and Big Ten.
The BIG XII has
now made a big move, announcing their new TV deal, a 6-year contract worth
around $2.2B, or around $31M per school. That amount goes UP from their
previous deal that included Texas and Oklahoma as members of the conference.
As a fan of a
team in the ACC, it has been frustrating see moves being made by the SEC &
Big Ten and deals by the Big XII get done, while the ACC sits around doing
nothing. So, since the ACC leaders haven’t said much about their plans, I’ve
decided to share mine for the conference moving forward.
The most important thing that the ACC needs to get done to stay relevant among the SEC and Big Ten, and possibly separate themselves from the Pac-12 & Big XII as the clear #3 conference is to get ESPN to renegotiate the conferences TV deal. I realize that is easier said than done, but ESPN has invested A LOT in the ACC with the creation of the ACC Network and they don’t want to see the conference fall into the abyss. So here are the three moves that ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips needs to make to save the ACC!
1) Move to 9
Conference Games
2) Get ESPN to
re-work the conference Rights deal and share it with another network.
3) Add Notre Dame
The first one
is simple, so we can tackle that one first. By moving to 9 nine conference
games, this gives your TV partners more quality content. Live television,
especially sporting events, is what draws the highest ratings nowadays. This
means it makes them the most money. The more quality content to sell
advertisements during, the more money they have available to pay the conference
for their TV rights. More games mean more live content. More ACC games, also means
less games vs Group of 5 or FCS teams. Adding one more conference game will
draw more eyeballs.
With the
conference moving away from divisions in 2023, playing an extra game also helps
cycle every team to all of the other schools on a more regular basis and sets
up for closer, more exciting races to get into the Top 2 spots to qualify for
the championship game.
Now, the more
complicated points.
Notre Dame will
not join any conference if they don’t have to. Expanding the College Football
Playoff to 12 makes it easier for Notre Dame to make the playoff, but the new format
makes it more difficult for Notre Dame to have success in the playoff. The ACC
can offer Notre Dame a solution. Notre Dame already plays 5 ACC opponents every
year but are not considered members of the conference, therefore they cannot
play in the conference championship game or earn a Top 4 seed in the new
upcoming expanded playoff, which guarantees a BYE into the quarterfinals. The
ACC should ask Notre Dame to play 7 ACC games a year instead of their current
5. In exchange, the ACC would allow Notre Dame a spot in the conference
championship game if they finished in the top 2 in the conference based on win
percentage. This could give Notre Dame a 13th data point for the CFB
Playoff Selection Committee, which they typically would not have. And it would
give the Irish a way to earn a BYE and a Top 4 seed in the CFP. After Saturday's win over Clemson, Notre Dame has now won 27 regular season games
in a row vs ACC opponents and hasn’t lost since
November of 2017, when then #8 Miami beat #3 Notre Dame in Miami. The only ACC team
to beat Notre Dame during this span is Clemson, who did it twice in postseason
games, so you could see how this offer could be intriguing to the Irish.
Another reason
that this deal would make sense to Notre Dame is because they get a full
football share of the ACC TV Rights if they agree. Notre Dame has publicly said
that they are hoping for more money from their next TV deal, their NBC deal
expires after the 2024 season. Not that Notre Dame won’t get more from their
next deal but giving them more from the ACC couldn’t hurt.
Speaking of NBC…
The ACC needs
to get more of their games on networks that everyone can see. The ACC Network
is nice and is finally available nearly nationwide. But with the ACC’s current
deal with ESPN, a lot of content gets dumped onto ACCX, which is only available
via streaming or to the regional networks of the teams playing. That is fine
for most sports, but not football. Every ACC football game should be available
on national television. This is where NBC and their partnership with Notre Dame
comes into play to help all parties involved. NBC clearly wants to be a bigger
part of the college football market. They just agreed to terms with the Big Ten
to broadcast 1 game weekly in primetime. NBC likely will bid on at least some
of the broadcast rights for the College Football Playoff when it expands. So,
adding more college football content and another conference would make a lot of
sense for the network. If ESPN allows the ACC to share their rights with
another network, NBC should be the network that gets the call.
The ACC could
offer NBC ~15 games per season to help their brand get off the ground, all
while putting more ACC games in a national spotlight. A win-win for all parties
involved. Notre Dame typically plays 7 games on NBC a season, out of a 13-week
regular season schedule. The ACC could give NBC a lead-in to every Notre Dame
broadcast with a unique 11AM kickoff. On Saturday’s that Notre Dame is not
playing a home game, NBC could either schedule an ACC double-header or schedule
their ACC game during their typical 2:30pm EST slot that Notre Dame plays in. 11AM
kickoff give the ACC a 1-hour window that they are the only game in town, which
would be a unique exposure for any conference. And because of the already
existing relationship with ESPN, they could have live look-ins of that game
during College GameDay, again giving the game and conference extra exposure.
The ACC Championship Game is broadcast annually on ESPN/ABC, which also helps the ACC in negotiating their new deal with ESPN. When Clemson and Notre Dame played in the ACC Championship Game during the 2020 COVID season, they drew nearly 10 million viewers, which was the highest of any conference championship game for that season. It was also nearly double the viewers that ESPN/ABC drew the year prior when Notre Dame wasn’t in the game. Considering the possibilities, ESPN would have to be crazy to not agree to renegotiate the ACC conference’s media rights deal if these other pieces were all in place. More eyeballs equal more money and Notre Dame attracts a lot of eyeballs. Which means more eyeballs for ESPN and NBC equals more money for both the ACC and Notre Dame.
If Jim Phillips can do these 3 things, he can save the ACC.
