
ACC Network Launch Day: Inside ESPN's New Sleek, Modern, Colorful ACCN Studio The 2,800-sq.ft. studio in Bristol, CT, features a load of technological capabilities By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Thursday, August 22, 2019 - 2:48 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
With the launch of the ACC Network on Thursday comes the debut of a sharp, sleek, and colorful new studio set on ESPN's Bristol, CT, campus.
Located in Studio G in ESPN's Digital Center 1, the 2,800-sq.-ft. home of the new college-conference network was no simple, templated build. This is a customized set designed to push the envelope in a few areas, including clever camera design and innovative graphics displays.
The ACC Network, which launches on Thursday, occupies a new 2,800-sq.-ft. studio at ESPN's Digital Center 1.
It's a space that not only is ready for launch today but has a lot of room to grow alongside the network over the next few years.
We're going to try to incorporate sort of the two tiers of storytelling, which is the human side, the human-interest side, but then also what is the next level of storytelling through data and analysis, says Amy Rosenfeld, senior coordinating producer, ESPN. We're virtual-ready. We are experimenting with our capabilities on augmented reality. We are going to be pretty aggressive in the execution of data and analytics as it relates to a storytelling device.
MORE:
ACC Network Launch Day: With Buy-In From ESPN and All 15 Schools, Newest College Sports Network Is Poised for Success
ACC Network Launch Day: Packer and Durham Morning Show Will Anchor Daily Programming - From Mark Packer's Basement
Among the studio's most notable tech features are a pair of fully robotic telescoping pedestal cameras in a box that can offer unique views of the various set locations. The boxes are developed by Rhode Island-based production company Creative Conners. They can serve as integrated scene pieces when not in use but can quickly rise into action and transition viewers from one point in the set to another, allowing fun and seamless transitions between segments.
The studio also houses four Grass Valley LDX 86 4K-capable cameras (set to shoot in 1080p), a pair of Grass Valley LDC 4K-capable cameras (also shooting in 1080p), three robotic Vinten cameras, two Vinten Vantage PTZ robotic camera heads, a MOSYS eCrane able to display augmented-reality graphics and StarTracker virtual data, five LED walls (one able to slide around to different positions), two 98-in. monitors, a pair of touchscreens for on-air talent to use for telestration and analysis, six mobile Pak Talent game-viewing monitors, and 262 LED lighting fixtures (including 38 color-changing moving lights and 116 LED controllers wired and networked to the lighting board for all LED set elements).
ESPN's ACC Network studio features a camera in a box that can quickly transition from a set piece into a fully operational mobile robotic camera.
The robust studio is just another demonstration of ESPN's commitment to putting its best resources behind this project. Although the network has learned lessons and has a nice template from the launches of both the Longhorn Network (2011) and the SEC Network (2014), it was a priority to give ACC Network a personality all its own.
We wanted to make a point to make ACC [Network] its own unique space, says Kristy Higgins, supervising director, ESPN, who helped oversee much of the studio's development. One of our goals, and something that the ACC as a whole really embraced, is pushing the individual schools, colors, and flavor. Each of the ACC schools speaks for [itself], and we want them to incorporate that, not only in our studio design but also in the graphic designs and in the colors that we use in some of the animations. I think we've captured a lot of each individual school in some of those designs.
Rosenfeld agrees that the ESPN graphics department outdid itself with the graphics package, which will be used heavily within this studio.
I don't say this lightly, and I'm definitely dating myself, she says, but I've been doing this a really, really long time, and I've worked on really, really big events. I've worked on Olympics, I've worked on World Cups. I have never been a part of an animation and graphics package that is as forward-thinking and innovative and cool as this ACC Network package.
Most recent headlines
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
22/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
22/12/2025
Berklee Wrapped 2025: Our Top News and Stories A look back at a year highlighted by faculty milestones, major film and television projects, Bob Dylan's ho...
22/12/2025
The works of Plato state that when humans have an experience, some level of change occurs in their brain, which is powered by memory - specifically long-term me...
22/12/2025
Partnership integrates complementary satellite data and AI analytics to enhance security, infrastructure, and environmental monitoring solutions for global cust...
22/12/2025
Workflows allow you to create a sequence of planned events which may be added to your template(s) or inserted directly into your sequential or background playli...
22/12/2025
Monday 22 December 2025
Sky extends PGA TOUR partnership until 2029, as Sky Spo...
22/12/2025
Back to All News
Global Anime Hits and New Releases Take Center Stage at Jump Festa 2026
Entertainment
22 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to clipboar...
22/12/2025
Siobh n McSweeney, Rory McIlroy, Elon Musk, Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin, Ivan Yates and Traitor Paudie Moloney lead new characters for Callan Kicks the Year 2...
22/12/2025
Winner announced in the picturesque surroundings of Wicklow's Avondale Tower and Treetop Walk
Andrew Trimble wins the show in his first series as coach
Th...
22/12/2025
The 2025 winners have been announced today, Sunday 21 December, for Ireland's largest choral competition Choirs for Christmas hosted by RT lyric fm.
Ove...