This weekend, Raycom Sports will branded its syndicated ACC package as “The ACC Network”. While a new contract with the ACC doesn’t begin until next season, ESPN, Raycom and conference officials agreed that Raycom could rebrand this year to get a jump start. It means all football and basketball games on Raycom will fall under the ACC Network brand. We have the press release from the Atlantic Coast Conference and Raycom.
Raycom Sports’ Syndicated ACC Football and Basketball Telecasts Will Feature ACC Network BrandCHARLOTTE, N.C. – Raycom Sports and the Atlantic Coast Conference today announced that beginning this season, the Raycom Sports Regional Syndicated package of Atlantic Coast Conference football and basketball telecasts will be branded as the ACC Network. The new marketing initiative will feature ACC Network graphics and designations beginning with the first game this year, the Duke at Wake Forest telecast on Saturday, September 11th.The ACC Network branding was part of the new television rights agreements between the ACC, Raycom Sports and ESPN that begins with the 2011 Football season. Raycom Sports and the Conference moved to begin the branding during the final year of the existing contract.“Beginning to brand the ACC Network with the start of the first conference football game made great sense for our league, member schools, fans and partners,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “It’s a great tribute to Raycom that we’re able to roll out this initiative a year before the new contract begins.”
“The establishment of the ACC Network brand was a natural step, given our longstanding syndication exclusivity with the Atlantic Coast Conference,” said Jimmy Rayburn, vice-president of operations for Raycom Sports. “Moving forward with our new rights agreement, we were already preparing the transition. But with the volume of media coverage already surrounding the conference’s new television rights agreement, it made perfect sense to capitalize on the public’s attention now with the ACC Network designation.”
The Atlantic Coast Conference, now in its 58th year of competition, is one of the strongest and most competitive intercollegiate athletics conferences in the country. The ACC sponsors competition in 25 sports for its 12 member institutions: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. Since the league’s inception in 1953, ACC schools have captured 120 national team championships and 221 individual national championships. For more information on the ACC and its 12 member institutions go to:www.theACC.com.
Raycom Sports is a leading independent sports sales & marketing, syndication, event management and production firm. Raycom is the current television rightsholder of ACC men’s basketball and syndicated football telecasts. Raycom Sports’ parent company Raycom Media, located in Montgomery, AL, owns and operates 39 television stations covering over 12 percent of the United States across 18 states. For more information, please go to: www.raycomsports.com.
So ACC fans have a year to get used to see ACC Network logos rather than the Raycom bug.
