Future of the ACC network?

[jfk6668]

I just read an article saying the network will officially kick off next year....a partnership between ESPN and the ACC.

Anyway, I'm finding it super convenient to watch the games on the Watch ESPN platform.....is this going to turn in a channel you have to pay for next year?

 

[PHEONIX4]

Hopefully. I wouldn’t mind getting all the Pitt games even if it cost me 5 or 6 bucks a month.

 

[PittCity]

Wow bro. Have you been living in a hole in Beirut or what ?

 

[NCanton Panther]

Hopefully. I wouldn’t mind getting all the Pitt games even if it cost me 5 or 6 bucks a month.

Well, like the OP notes, you get them now on the WatchESPN app w/o having to pay the extra $5-6 so what’s the upside of the new and improved ACCN when it launches?

 

[PittCity]

Well, like the OP notes, you get them now on the WatchESPN app w/o having to pay the extra $5-6 so what’s the upside of the new and improved ACCN when it launches?

it should be added to whatever you got if you have espn and sec network... for free.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Well, like the OP notes, you get them now on the WatchESPN app w/o having to pay the extra $5-6 so what’s the upside of the new and improved ACCN when it launches?

It’ll be available on the app
Just also on tv

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

it should be added to whatever you got if you have espn and sec network... for free.

It won't be free, but it will be included in your bill so you might not notice it. ESPN certainly isn't free. Neither is the SEC network. Or any other ESPN channel.

 

[cease10]

Some folks have to pay extra for the SECN, so ACCN may also be extra. The ACC games are currently not an extra cost, but that may change with a dedicated network.

Other than the games, I'm wondering what other programming will help to carry the network. Paul Finebaum has done great for SECN, wondering if ACCN will try to have a similar type personality/show.

 

[PHEONIX4]

Well, like the OP notes, you get them now on the WatchESPN app w/o having to pay the extra $5-6 so what’s the upside of the new and improved ACCN when it launches?

I don’t get them because my cable company doesn’t carry accn

 

[NCanton Panther]

I don’t get them because my cable company doesn’t carry accn

If your cable subscription gets you access to espn3 / watchespn you should then be able to get the games thru it.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

I don’t get them because my cable company doesn’t carry accn

Just ditch cable or satellite TV and switch to streaming TV using a ROKU or similar device. As long as you have a fast enough WIFi speed to avoid annoying buffering you will be set. Then subscribe to a streaming service like U-Tube TV or Sling, etc. that offers an ESPN channel or more than one. Then download the ESPN App to ROKU with U-Tube or Sling, etc. as your sponsor. Then you will get the ACC Network within the ESPN App. I have watched Pitt women's volleyball and women's hoops as well as every Pitt men's hoops game this November that way.

 

[ratking17]

I have been disappointed with the broadcasts on comcast. It repeatedly kicked me off the broadcast and I had to reload it. Also it skips often and is choppy

 

[PittME75]

Just ditch cable or satellite TV and switch to streaming TV using a ROKU or similar device. As long as you have a fast enough WIFi speed to avoid annoying buffering you will be set. Then subscribe to a streaming service like U-Tube TV or Sling, etc. that offers an ESPN channel or more than one. Then download the ESPN App to ROKU with U-Tube or Sling, etc. as your sponsor. Then you will get the ACC Network within the ESPN App. I have watched Pitt women's volleyball and women's hoops as well as every Pitt men's hoops game this November that way.

I have Sling and with my smart TV I don't need ROKU or to download the ESPN app. Picture is great too.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

I have Sling and with my smart TV I don't need ROKU or to download the ESPN app. Picture is great too.

Yep . A smart TV works too.

 

[PittPanthers90]

Not a fan of Smart TVs. Mine keeps having wifi issues. (Visio)
Love my Roku, the only time i replaced a roku was when it got seriously out of date.
And that is the beauty, if the firmware gets to a point it dont work good, it is easy to replace the Roku, but a Smart Tv just becomes dumb then you still need to go get a streaming device

 

[PittME75]

Not a fan of Smart TVs. Mine keeps having wifi issues. (Visio)
Love my Roku, the only time i replaced a roku was when it got seriously out of date.
And that is the beauty, if the firmware gets to a point it dont work good, it is easy to replace the Roku, but a Smart Tv just becomes dumb then you still need to go get a streaming device

I'll keep that in mind if I have issues (Samsung)

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Not a fan of Smart TVs. Mine keeps having wifi issues. (Visio)
Love my Roku, the only time i replaced a roku was when it got seriously out of date.
And that is the beauty, if the firmware gets to a point it dont work good, it is easy to replace the Roku, but a Smart Tv just becomes dumb then you still need to go get a streaming device

Other people don't like smart TVs due to "spyware" and related Identity protection issues. I read a "techy" article somewhere recommending against smart TVs for that reason.

 

[PittPanthers90]

Other people don't like smart TVs due to "spyware" and related Identity protection issues. I read a "techy" article somewhere recommending against smart TVs for that reason.

There is also that which is why I own no alexis, google home, etc

 

[BuffetParrothead]

It won't be free, but it will be included in your bill so you might not notice it. ESPN certainly isn't free. Neither is the SEC network. Or any other ESPN channel.

In fact ESPN and Comcast are two networks that increase your bundled cable bill by a lot.

Direct TV which we have doesn't carry Comcast if you're in the Philly viewing area due to costs they have to pass on to customers.

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

I have a Roku (and xbox one) and we are cord cutters who stream most of the usual services and I just sort of assumed I would get this next year.

My questions:
1. Will you be able to get buy this network without having a cable provider to tie it to via some sort of digital authorization?
2. Will Pitt home games be blacked out?

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I have a Roku (and xbox one) and we are cord cutters who stream most of the usual services and I just sort of assumed I would get this next year.

My questions:
1. Will you be able to get buy this network without having a cable provider to tie it to via some sort of digital authorization?
2. Will Pitt home games be blacked out?

1. Not right now but probably in the not too distant future as ESPN is getting into the stream-only business with ESPN+

2. ESPN does not black out anything.

If you don't want cable, streamers such as Sling and YouTubeTV and others may have it. I am not familiar with Roku.

 

[MarshallGoldberg]

That stinks. Take my money, I'll pay a lot to have ESPN/ACC without having to also have cable.

 

[ThePanthers]

1. Not right now but probably in the not too distant future as ESPN is getting into the stream-only business with ESPN+

2. ESPN does not black out anything.

If you don't want cable, streamers such as Sling and YouTubeTV and others may have it. I am not familiar with Roku.

With regard to 2. I don't know why, but there were a few football games I tried to watch on the ACCNetwork plus this fall and it said the game was blacked out. And it was random games. Not sure why.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

I have a Roku (and xbox one) and we are cord cutters who stream most of the usual services and I just sort of assumed I would get this next year.

My questions:
1. Will you be able to get buy this network without having a cable provider to tie it to via some sort of digital authorization?
2. Will Pitt home games be blacked out?

My guesses:

1. If it doesn't change from the current process you will be able to use You Tube TV or Sling (or possibly some other streaming service) as your sponsor with a digital code. You might need to pay an extra fee like I do for ESPN+ via the ESPN app. You will need to have wi-fi service with a sufficiently fast download speed if you want to avoid buffering issues. I use a service that gives me 7-8 Mbps download speed for $99/month--good enough to stream well on one device at a time which is all I ever do with almost no buffering issues. My provider also offers a faster download speed for $199/month which would allow more than one device to stream video simultaneously.

By the way, at the moment, I believe U-Tube TV ($40/month) has the most sports stations included of all the streaming services. With ESPN+ added I am paying $45/month total (U-Tube + ESPN+) and I can watch any ESPN3 or AACNXtra college football or basketball game live and/or watch the replay later if I miss a game I wanted to see live. My total wifi plus TV bill is $144/month. For comparison, I used to pay $210/month for a combination land line and DSL from the phone company plus Dish Network w/sports pak and got worse sports coverage and experienced a wifi download speed too slow to even stream games on the computer without constant buffering issues.

2. I don't know about blackouts of home games since I don't live in the Pittsburgh area. I am not expecting that to be an issue for me.

 

[GomerTV]

My guesses:

1. If it doesn't change from the current process you will be able to use You Tube TV or Sling (or possibly some other streaming service) as your sponsor with a digital code. You might need to pay an extra fee like I do for ESPN+ via the ESPN app. You will need to have wi-fi service with a sufficiently fast download speed if you want to avoid buffering issues. I use a service that gives me 7-8 Mbps download speed for $99/month--good enough to stream well on one device at a time which is all I ever do with almost no buffering issues. My provider also offers a faster download speed for $199/month which would allow more than one device to stream video simultaneously.

By the way, at the moment, I believe U-Tube TV ($40/month) has the most sports stations included of all the streaming services. With ESPN+ added I am paying $45/month total (U-Tube + ESPN+) and I can watch any ESPN3 or AACNXtra college football or basketball game live and/or watch the replay later if I miss a game I wanted to see live. My total wifi plus TV bill is $144/month. For comparison, I used to pay $210/month for a combination land line and DSL from the phone company plus Dish Network w/sports pak and got worse sports coverage and experienced a wifi download speed too slow to even stream games on the computer without constant buffering issues.

2. I don't know about blackouts of home games since I don't live in the Pittsburgh area. I am not expecting that to be an issue for me.

That seems like a lot of $ for the speed. We can stream he on multiple devices for about 65 a month

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

With regard to 2. I don't know why, but there were a few football games I tried to watch on the ACCNetwork plus this fall and it said the game was blacked out. And it was random games. Not sure why.

Those are the Regional Sports Networks games. The contract doesn't allow ESPN to simulcast those games live. However, those are done after this school year.

In some cases, ATTSN will be showing a game at 2AM because the Pens or Pirates were but you still couldn't watch it live on ACCNE because ATTSN had the live rights but decided not to show it live

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

That seems like a lot of $ for the speed. We can stream he on multiple devices for about 65 a month

DC Metro Xurbs pricing probably. I could not find anything cheaper--and I searched.

 

[ratking17]

Anyone know why when watching on comcast I get kicked off and have to reload it

 

[joeydavid]

Other people don't like smart TVs due to "spyware" and related Identity protection issues. I read a "techy" article somewhere recommending against smart TVs for that reason.

That's really only an issue in places like Happy Valley.

 

[joeydavid]

At that download speed, an Ethernet connection is the way to go when streaming to any device. $20 in an adapter and cable to end any buffering. It will also allow you to run multiple devices at once.

You may want to look into a Verizon personal wifi hotspot. Better speed for similar cost.

My guesses:

1. If it doesn't change from the current process you will be able to use You Tube TV or Sling (or possibly some other streaming service) as your sponsor with a digital code. You might need to pay an extra fee like I do for ESPN+ via the ESPN app. You will need to have wi-fi service with a sufficiently fast download speed if you want to avoid buffering issues. I use a service that gives me 7-8 Mbps download speed for $99/month--good enough to stream well on one device at a time which is all I ever do with almost no buffering issues. My provider also offers a faster download speed for $199/month which would allow more than one device to stream video simultaneously.

By the way, at the moment, I believe U-Tube TV ($40/month) has the most sports stations included of all the streaming services. With ESPN+ added I am paying $45/month total (U-Tube + ESPN+) and I can watch any ESPN3 or AACNXtra college football or basketball game live and/or watch the replay later if I miss a game I wanted to see live. My total wifi plus TV bill is $144/month. For comparison, I used to pay $210/month for a combination land line and DSL from the phone company plus Dish Network w/sports pak and got worse sports coverage and experienced a wifi download speed too slow to even stream games on the computer without constant buffering issues.

2. I don't know about blackouts of home games since I don't live in the Pittsburgh area. I am not expecting that to be an issue for me.

 

[cease10]

I have a Roku (and xbox one) and we are cord cutters who stream most of the usual services and I just sort of assumed I would get this next year.

My questions:
1. Will you be able to get buy this network without having a cable provider to tie it to via some sort of digital authorization?
2. Will Pitt home games be blacked out?

Based on the current SECN settings, which I assume will be the same for ACCN....

1. Not yet, right now you need a cable or streaming provider to tie in for digital authorization.

2. No....as someone already mentioned that only RSN games are blacked out, but this will be the last year of RSN games.

I'm happy to no longer have to pay for the RSNs, since they're on a different package with Sling, so all I would need is Sling Orange and probably the sports extra to get ACCN.

 

[cease10]

DC Metro Xurbs pricing probably. I could not find anything cheaper--and I searched.

That does seem expensive for streaming on just one device. I get up to 25Mbps for $50

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

At that download speed, an Ethernet connection is the way to go when streaming to any device. $20 in an adapter and cable to end any buffering. It will also allow you to run multiple devices at once.

You may want to look into a Verizon personal wifi hotspot. Better speed for similar cost.

My wifi is delivered via Satelite dish.

 

[cease10]

My wifi is delivered via Satelite dish.

Are you sure Xfinity or AT&T wouldn't give u better rate and service?

 

[NTOP]

I just read an article saying the network will officially kick off next year....a partnership between ESPN and the ACC.

Anyway, I'm finding it super convenient to watch the games on the Watch ESPN platform.....is this going to turn in a channel you have to pay for next year?

It's been advertised on games for a while. August 2019. Your carrier will decide whether to add it or not.