OT: ACC Network picked up by DirectTV

[ThePanthers]

https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Morning-Buzz/2019/03/12/acc-net.aspx

This was a big one. Now ESPN can build leverage against Comcast, Dish, etc. when those negotiations come up.

 

[bwh05]

Big. Getting the network off the ground without a hitch will go a long way towards a stable future for Pitt and the league.

 

[burnie1105]

More importantly:

ESPN is launching an ad campaign around the net today to coincide with the start of the ACC men’s basketball tournament. The campaign is called “We Do This,” and shows an inside look at each of the conference’s schools and their traditions.

Thank god. If I have to hear, 'ALL EYES ON US (LET'S ALL RISE UP)' one more time, I'm going to go insane.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

Awesome. They have it all calculated out to maximize the timing.

 

[ThePanthers]

Awesome. They have it all calculated out to maximize the timing.

Exactly. It is no coincidence as to why fall of 2019 was the target date. They are avoiding what happened with the launch of the Longhorn network where they tried to launch it mid contract with the providers. No one would reopen and/or carry it.

They are going the SECN launch and launching it during the new negotiation periods with the carriers so they could bundle it with the negotiations for ESPN, SECN, ESPN2, Disney Channel and ABC. This is also why they teams with ESPN/Disney.

The "oh, they should have launched sooner" or "oh, they should have teamed with NBC!" people never understood. It would have been a disaster.

 

[pittdan77]

So, as a DirectTV subscriber, does this mean I'll get to watch all of the Pitt games on TV now or will I still have to fire up my laptop?

 

[ThePanthers]

So, as a DirectTV subscriber, does this mean I'll get to watch all of the Pitt games on TV now or will I still have to fire up my laptop?

You'll have a much better chance. It's exactly like the SECN. For football they'll have 2 or 3 time slot to fill so there is a much better chance Pitt will be on. For BB the same.

Randomly they will have other sports on the linear network.

But if you want to watch everything Pitt you will still have to go to the ACCN+ app.

 

[PittPanthers90]

Any word on negotiations with Spectrum?

 

[ThePanthers]

Any word on negotiations with Spectrum?

No, and you probably won't hear anything. Some will go until the last minute. There are some careers that come up after launch and will be agreed to afterwards. But overall it seems to be going well.

 

[PittMan 72]

https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Morning-Buzz/2019/03/12/acc-net.aspx

This was a big one. Now ESPN can build leverage against Comcast, Dish, etc. when those negotiations come up.

Yes it is a big one. The combined population of the states in the ACC footprint is the largest of any college conference. And in a lot of those states the ACC has schools in, the population is growing. That's a very important and attractive asset to have to pitch to carriers. Certainly better than some of the other alternatives.

 

[DiehardPanther]

Excellent! I have been with DirecTV for awhile.

 

[Pitt79]

Does his mean that you must have DirectTV to get it? If so that sucks for me and a lot of people.

 

[PittMan 72]

Does his mean that you must have DirectTV to get it? If so that sucks for me and a lot of people.

No. You'll just need to have some carrier that provides it. But DirectTV is a big one that has a lot of subscribers nationally. So it's a coup for the ACCN to get them in the fold so early on.

 

[DiehardPanther]

Does his mean that you must have DirectTV to get it? If so that sucks for me and a lot of people.

I have stayed between $60-$80 with DirecTV over about 5 years. You tell them you are going to switch anytime they try to raise your bill and they work with you. I am constantly receiving free channels (including the NFL package for one year).

 

[ThePanthers]

Does his mean that you must have DirectTV to get it? If so that sucks for me and a lot of people.

There are still negotiations going on with other cable providers. They will continue. But getting DirectTV is big because it gives the ACC/ESPN/Disney leverage against Comcast, Spectrum, Dish, etc. Those customers can now say "I want it on my packet or I'll got to DirectTV".

We have until August 22nd if you are Comcast, Armstrong in this area.

 

[Pitt79]

There are still negotiations going on with other cable providers. They will continue. But getting DirectTV is big because it gives the ACC/ESPN/Disney leverage against Comcast, Spectrum, Dish, etc. Those customers can now say "I want it on my packet or I'll got to DirectTV".

We have until August 22nd if you are Comcast, Armstrong in this area.

It's currently on Comcast right now, I've watched a lot of Pitt games on it this year. The streaming service, but still.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

Agree, anything always possible, but the DirecTV is huge and now I would think almost zero chance all others don't fall into place.

 

[ThePanthers]

It's currently on Comcast right now, I've watched a lot of Pitt games on it this year. The streaming service, but still.

Yeah. I'm talking about the linear channel.

 

[joeydavid]

An Amazon Firestick and Ethernet adaptor solves all of the problems of streaming games. I dumped my directv and caught every Pitt game that I didn't attend for $10 month. No buffering, HD quality.

So, as a DirectTV subscriber, does this mean I'll get to watch all of the Pitt games on TV now or will I still have to fire up my laptop?

 

[ThePanthers]

An Amazon Firestick and Ethernet adaptor solves all of the problems of streaming games. I dumped my directv and caught every Pitt game that I didn't attend for $10 month. No buffering, HD quality.

I watched all the games that were on Cozi TV, etc on the ACCN+ through my Roku. HD quality,etc. I also watched all the Olympic sports on there as well.

 

[joeydavid]

The only negative to speak of is the streaming runs a minute or two behind live. My score app would notify me of a game ending with a time still on the clock.

I watched all the games that were on Cozi TV, etc on the ACCN+ through my Roku. HD quality,etc. I also watched all the Olympic sports on there as well.

 

[pittdan77]

An Amazon Firestick and Ethernet adaptor solves all of the problems of streaming games. I dumped my directv and caught every Pitt game that I didn't attend for $10 month. No buffering, HD quality.

You're trying to embarrass me. I have a TV that's at least fifteen years old and I didn't have an option to get internet that was fast enough to stream until last summer. Rural, Central Pennsylvania is stuck in the early 90's, technologically.

 

[joeydavid]

That sounds terrible, sorry.

You're trying to embarrass me. I have a TV that's at least fifteen years old and I didn't have an option to get internet that was fast enough to stream until last summer. Rural, Central Pennsylvania is stuck in the early 90's, technologically.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

[URL='https://twitter.com/accnetwork'][/URL]
ACCN
✔@accnetwork
@MarkPacker and @WesDurham are coming to ACCN! Your weekday mornings just got better.

Nice! Very credible.

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

An Amazon Firestick and Ethernet adaptor solves all of the problems of streaming games. I dumped my directv and caught every Pitt game that I didn't attend for $10 month. No buffering, HD quality.

No streaming service matches the image quality of my Directv feed. They can claim HD, full HD, whatever. It's not comparable. FWIW, my local cable company couldn't match it either.

I get the price difference and understand the decision, but HD quality can mean a lot of things.

 

[joeydavid]

I have flipped from Antenna to Directv to stream for the same event. Just to see the picture quality differences.

The antenna is the best picture quality. My Directv and stream (via Ethernet and 4K Firestick) are very much identical.

The Ethernet plus the 4K produces a far superior picture quality than using Wi-Fi or a 2nd generation fire stick. Once I got the 4K, I dumped directv.

No streaming service matches the image quality of my Directv feed. They can claim HD, full HD, whatever. It's not comparable. FWIW, my local cable company couldn't match it either.

I get the price difference and understand the decision, but HD quality can mean a lot of things.

 

[DiehardPanther]

I have flipped from Antenna to Directv to stream for the same event. Just to see the picture quality differences.

The antenna is the best picture quality. My Directv and stream (via Ethernet and 4K Firestick) are very much identical.

The Ethernet plus the 4K produces a far superior picture quality than using Wi-Fi or a 2nd generation fire stick. Once I got the 4K, I dumped directv.

How much do you end paying and what channels do you get?

 

[joeydavid]

Really just Netflix and ESPN plus VPN. $20
My location for an antenna is very good.

Everything else you find on various free apps.

How much do you end paying and what channels do you get?

 

[pittdan77]

That sounds terrible, sorry.

Still trying to decide why I torment myself like this.