ACC Network launch officially set for August 22, 2019

When you’ve been prepping your conference-affiliated network for years, you’d think there would be a little more fanfare around announcing its launch date and first big football game. But you’re not the ACC and the ACC’s not you. So Friday it was for the ACC Network...

Per the announcement, the ACC Network launches on August 22, 2019 and the first major game will be a week later, on August 29 when Georgia Tech and Clemson face off on the football field.

The setup here mimics the rollout of other networks getting a big game to get things started, though this one — featuring one of the ACC’s most prominent cross-divisional rivalries and the current best team, Clemson — is arguably the best yet of those events.

One of the reasons they may have buried the news is because we’ve still heard very little with regard to cable/satellite provider pickup and where it will be streaming over the top; two factors critical to its success. The ACC Network has a leg up on the maligned Pac-12 Network because it’s aligned with ESPN, so could conceivably be worked into the existing deals. But a big part of that sell will also be (as we’ve discussed before) an emphasis on original programming and not just overflow.

We probably hear a lot more about the ACC Network come 2019, but we’ve already made our desires clear there with regard to content. Fun stuff featuring coaches and players would be great. A food and travel show starring Jim Boeheim would be even better. There’s a lot of potential for the league to take advantage of its fun personalities and inside jokes (#goacc) if it chooses. Hopefully it’s paying proper attention to the culture that’s popped up around it — and not just the one in North Carolina.