Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

ACC Network Launch Day: With Buy-In From ESPN and All 15 Schools, Newest College Sports Network Is Poised for Success

22/08/2019

ACC Network Launch Day: With Buy-In From ESPN and All 15 Schools, Newest College Sports Network Is Poised for Success Years of preparation comes to fruition as ACCN debuts on Thursday evening By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Thursday, August 22, 2019 - 4:29 pm

Print This Story

Story Highlights

Hang on, I just got to put down the paper bag I've been breathing into. Even for an industry veteran like ESPN Senior Coordinating Producer Amy Rosenfeld, this feeling never goes away.

With the network since 2007, Rosenfeld has worked her fair share of major events, network launches, and property debuts, but, as the long-awaited and highly anticipated ACC Network kicks off on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, the butterflies will be just as intense as on her first day on the job.

After years of preparations, the ACC Network launches on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.

We are feeling really, really lucky to be able to be part of something that not a lot of people get to do, says Rosenfeld, whose career encompassed work on numerous Olympics, FIFA World Cups, X Games, and much more. We're going to put a lot of energy into Aug. 22, and, hopefully, we are going to put on a really robust, interesting, and exciting show. What we've tried to emphasize to everyone, though, is [that] we better have a little left in the tank because, as far as I'm aware, we're still on the air on Aug. 23 and Aug. 24 and in September and in October and in November.

To say that this day has been a long time coming would be an understatement. For more than three years, the Atlantic Coast Conference's 15 member institutions have been expanding staffs, campaigning for funding (even in front of the government in their state capitals), remodeling their venues, and building multimillion-dollar broadcast facilities all to be a part of what promises to be the most technologically comprehensive and advanced college-sports television network to date.

It has been complete buy-in, from the brass at ESPN to athletic directors across the ACC map, that has helped set up this network for success on its opening day.

This is not blowing smoke here: the support at ESPN, I'll tell you, [has] that same feel like when we did [FIFA] World Cups, says Rosenfeld. The company is all in. One of the great benefits of being in Bristol is the access to the people, not just the infrastructure. That's where I take a lot of relief and joy in that we couldn't be in a better place and have a better support structure.

ESPN Coordinating Producer Meg Aronowitz concurs: Honestly, every school to a person, all 15 of the schools have the same level of enthusiasm for this project and have had that same level of enthusiasm from day one.

She and ESPN Director, Remote Production Operations, Rex Arends (who has now worked on three of the college network launches: besides this one, Big Ten Network in 2007 and SEC Network in 2015) have served as ESPN liaison to all the schools. I mean there was a time where Rex and I were traveling around to the schools and were calling it the IF Network' because there was not even a contract signed, she says. But we wanted to start having conversations with them about what this would look and feel like if we were to launch the ACC Network.

A Path Different From the SEC Network's

ESPN has, of course, fought through this forest before, launching the University of Texas's Longhorn Network in August 2011 and, more broadly, the wildly successful SEC Network in 2015.

Another key executive, Stephanie Druly, EVP, event and studio production, ESPN, has led the charge on all three network debuts. However, to say the ACC Network is simply a cut-and-paste of the SEC template would be a gross underestimation of this project. The ACC Network has benefited from nearly a decade's worth of learning how to prepare and, most important, maintain a sports network of this scope.

Prior to the SEC Network launch, sure, each campus bolstered its onsite production facilities substantially, but a large amount of the focus went into acquiring equipment and preparing the schools for what was largely expected to be streamed productions exclusively. Quickly, those school-produced live events were being relied on to fill out the SEC Network linear schedule and were even finding their way onto other networks in the ESPN family.

As ESPN prepared the ACC schools this time around, its team had the foresight to spend a good 18 months training the staffs on the art, philosophy, and execution of live sports television.

It was something that we really, frankly, didn't have the ability to do when we launched the SEC Network, says Aronowitz. When we launched the SEC Network, a lot of us came on board shortly before the network launched. The school piece was meant to be a digital play. We didn't really think through the process of mentoring and educating and supporting the schools on that level. So the four-plus years of experience that we've [attained with] the SEC Network taught us how we needed to ramp up for the ACC Network.

From left: ESPN executives Stacy McCollum, Amy Rosenfeld, Meg Aronowitz, and Rosalyn Durant have played key roles in ESPN's launch of the ACC Network.

On top of that, many of the 15 ACC Network institutions are already seasoned pros at producing live events from their studios for ESPN. Over the past 18 months, more than 120 games produced by the staffs and facilities of the ACC schools have aired on linear ESPN networks.

A huge factor in the ACC Network's successful lead-up to its debut has been the emphasis on people. All of the school's 15 athletic directors, in addition to budgeting for facilities, signed off on the expansion of their content-creation, technical, and engineering staffs to support the year-round efforts.

[That's], arguably, the bigge
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2019/08/22/acc-network-launch-day-with-buy...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

11/02/2026

Clear-Com Powers TEDNext 2025 with Gen-IC Virtual Interco...

Clear-Com provided an advanced, IP-based communications infrastructure for TEDNext 2025, supporting production, media, and editorial teams with a highly flexib...

11/02/2026

Astera Releases QuikBeam - Versatile 200W Equivalent LED...

Astera introduces QuikBeam, the newest addition to its acclaimed Quik family of focusing LED Fresnels. This ultra-compact spotlight combines the equivalent powe...

11/02/2026

Rai Selects Imagine Selenio Network Processor for IP Migr...

Following a competitive public tender process, Rai (Radiotelevisione Italiana), the national public broadcasting company of Italy, has awarded Imagine Communica...

11/02/2026

DoPchoice to Intro SNAP RABBIT Octa 5 SNAPBAG

With Convertible Mount for NL Bowens & Aputure A Mounts See it at BSC Expo Stand #133 LCA DoPchoice continues to refine light shaping tools for professional LE...

11/02/2026

ZEISS Aatma -Contemporary Full Frame Primes with a Soulfu...

World Premiere at BSC Expo, Booth #319 Oberkochen/Germany, 10 February 2026 ZEISS introduces the new Aatma, set of nine high-end full frame T1.5 cinema primes ...

11/02/2026

NUGEN Audio Plug Ins Help Nick Fry Navigate the Demands o...

As Re-recording Mixer and Head of Sound at The Farm, one of UK's leading post-production facilities, Nick Fry has built his career on making stories sound a...

11/02/2026

iSpot Introduces Agentic AI Platform iSpot SAGE

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/02/2026

NBC Sports Regional Sports Networks Taps Sportradar for NBA Coverage

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/02/2026

MLB.TV Launches on ESPN

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/02/2026

Super Bowl LX Attracts Nearly 125 Million U.S. Viewers

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/02/2026

Graduate Spotlight: Gabrielle Rodriguez

Graduate Spotlight: Gabrielle Rodriguez The educator, who grew up in the Philippines, shares how shes bringing what she learned at Berklee back home. Februar...

11/02/2026

Blast off with the launch of new RT KIDSjr animated series Adam Loves Adventure

The intergalactic children's show starring Adam King will premiere on 14 February on RT 2, RT KIDSjr and RT Player The Late Late Toy Show star Adam King...

10/02/2026

ESPN's Super Bowl Week Studio Footprint Doubles as a Bridge to the Network's First Super Bowl Coming in 2027

From San Fran to Santa Clara down to Los Angeles, ESPN celebrates the Big Game w...

10/02/2026

Canon Novel Lenses Shine Among More Than 115 Canon Lenses at Winter Games

A team of broadcast engineers and experts dispersed across Northern Italy help broadcasters and still photographers keep shooting OBS has put new imaging techn...

10/02/2026

For Karl Malone and the NBC Olympics Audio Team, Dolby Atmos Is Front, Center, and All Around

If you can have the best pictures and the best sound quality for these global ev...

10/02/2026

SVG Sit-Down: Quickplay's Paul Pastor on the Growth of Vertical Video Beyond Social Media

Disney+ will add vertical video within its app this year after ESPN introduced V...

10/02/2026

GameChanger Brings 1080HD Streaming to Youth Sports Production

GameChanger today unveiled the most comprehensive product update in its 15-year history, marking a major step forward in how families, athletes, coaches, fans, ...

10/02/2026

Editor-Approved Audiobooks Inspired by the Gothic Spirit of Wuthering Heights'

With a new film adaptation of Wuthering Heights arriving just in time for Valent...

10/02/2026

Spotify Reports Fourth Quarter 2025 Earnings

Today, we announced our fourth quarter 2025 earnings, marking a strong finish to the year with exceptional user growth and continued momentum across the busines...

10/02/2026

Spotify rapporterar resultat fr fjrde kvartalet 2025

I dag redovisar vi v rt resultat f r fj rde kvartalet 2025, vilket markerar ett starkt avslut p ret med robust anv ndartillv xt och fortsatt momentum i hela v...

10/02/2026

World-first opt-out function now fully integrated on SBS On Demand

World-first opt-out function now fully integrated on SBS On Demand 10 February, 2026 Media releases SBS has announced a suite of audience-first enhancement...

10/02/2026

L3Harris Signs Agreement with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Advanced Defense Collaboration

Jennifer Hanley, Vice President, International, L3Harris, signed a Memorandum of...

10/02/2026

Clear-Com Powers TEDNext 2025 with Gen-IC Virtual Intercom

eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......

10/02/2026

Gracenote Renews Partnership with Google for the AI Age

NEW YORK February 10, 2026 Nielsen's Gracenote, the global leader in entertainment metadata, today announced the continuation of its partnership with Go...

10/02/2026

YouTube TV Launches New $64.99 a Month Sports Plan

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/02/2026

Zeiss Introduces Aatma Prime Lenses

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/02/2026

From the Research Lab to the Production Studio - NUGEN Di...

Clear dialogue has long been one of the biggest pain points in post-production. From complex mixes to unpredictable playback environments, intelligibility somet...

10/02/2026

Trump Backs Nexstar-Tegna Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/02/2026

FCC Managing Director Mark Stephens to Retire

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/02/2026

FCC's Gomez: Fewer Owners Means Fewer Voices

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/02/2026

Study: OTA Broadcasts Offered Lowest Latency of Super Bowl LX Feeds

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/02/2026

VEON's Kyivstar Expands Digital Healthcare Services in Ukraine with Tabletki.ua Acquisition

10 Feb 2026 VEON's Kyivstar Expands Digital Healthcare Services in Ukraine ...

10/02/2026

Tonys Chocolonely wrestles cocoa exploitation in first-ever TV commercial, Theres Fight in Every Bite

The new TV campaign is set to air on Sky from 10th February - 6th April inviting...

10/02/2026

Red Seat Ventures Acquires Leading Podcast Subscription Platform Supercast

Red Seat Ventures Acquires Leading Podcast Subscription Platform Supercast Los Angeles, CA, February 10, 2026 - Red Seat Ventures, a division of Fox Corporati...

10/02/2026

Arvato Systems Celebrates a Decade of Innovation and Customer Success in the Digital Supply Chain

Arvato Systems Celebrates a Decade of Innovation and Customer Success in the Dig...

09/02/2026

SMT Brings New AR Weather Visualization, Refreshed Telestration to NBC Sports' Super Bowl Game Coverage

A look inside the tech, tools, and team that make the Super Bowl into true eye c...

09/02/2026

NEP's TFC Infrastructure, Supershooter 71 Power NBC Sports' IBC-Style' Super Bowl LX Infrastructure

Software-defined IP backbone and centralized signal-control hub redefine champio...

09/02/2026

From Alcatraz to an Olympics Handoff at Midfield, NBC Sports Expands Super Bowl Pregame Into Bay Area-Wide Celebration

Broadcasters continue to raise the bar when it comes to producing an eye-catchin...

09/02/2026

NBC Sports Builds Its Super Bowl LX Game Broadcast on Sunday Night Football' Engine - and Pushes It Further

Game coverage will feature nearly 100 cameras, a deep well of replay channels, a...

09/02/2026

Sony at Super Bowl LX: Audio, Imaging, and Tracking Tech Power NBC's Broadcast, Officiating Ops, Sideline Comms, and More

Sony's imaging tech is the literal lens through which the spectacle and exc...

09/02/2026

How OBS Uses FPV Drones, 360-Degree Replay To Enhance Storytelling

The technologies, including AI, allow fans at home to see the athletes, feel' the speed, and sense the skill With four years from one Winter Games to the ...

09/02/2026

Sportradar To Power NBA Fan Experiences Across NBC Sports RSNs through Advanced Data and Enhanced Visual Storytelling

Sportradar AG announces a multi-year agreement with NBC Sports Regional Sports N...

09/02/2026

New York Festivals Advertising Awards Embraces Sports for 2026 Competition

New York Festivals Advertising Awards proudly unveils a dynamic new Sports Category Group, expanding its 2026 competition to recognize the powerful role sports ...

09/02/2026

FanDuel TV Calls Super Bowl LX Media Row Home for Up & Adams', Social Media Content

Devlin Design Group, Filmwerks, LTN pitched in on the four-day effort The site ...

09/02/2026

Super Bowl LX In Review: All of SVG's Onsite Coverage From The Bay Area

Despite the game taking place right in the middle of NBC Sports' busiest month ever, its production and operations teams pulled off a massive Super Bowl LX ...