ACC will adopt 20-game league slate when its network launches
When the ACC network launches in three years, the league will have some extra basketball inventory to offer.
Commissioner John Swofford announced Thursday that the ACC will increase from 18 to 20 conference games beginning during the 2019-20 season.
The timing of the switch makes it obvious it’s television-driven. Men’s basketball and football games are the ACC’s most-watched content, and the league can now draw extra eyeballs with two extra conference games per year.
How a 20-game league schedule will affect non-conference scheduling is unclear at this point, but it’s a safe bet that many ACC teams will compensate by reducing the strength of their non-league slates.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see some ACC teams annually schedule two fewer non-league games against major-conference opponents. Most will surely replace at least one marquee non-conference game with a buy game against an inferior foe in order to make up for the loss of a home game from the schedule.
ESPN and the ACC announced the launch of the new television network Thursday. Forty ACC football games and 150 basketball games will air on the network after its 2019 launch, similar to the offerings on the Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC Networks.
“We look forward to working with our longtime partners at the ACC to create a network that reflects the depth and quality of its athletes and teams, and serves the fans who passionately support them,” ESPN president John Skipper said in a statement. “We are proud and excited to add the ACC Network to our industry-leading college content offerings.”
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
