Before ABC broadcasts the ACC championship football game between Clemson and North Carolina Saturday night, Disney Advertising and conference sponsors Bojangles, Food Lion, Subway and New York Life will be engaging fans at a FanFest.

The ACC Football FanFest starts Friday and runs up to gametime on Saturday in Romare Bearden Park in Charlotte and features games, photo opportunities and product giveaways.

Disney Advertising sells official sponsorships for the conference. Participating in the FanFest is one of the benefits of being an official sponsor, Theresa Palmieri, VP, Disney Advertising Sports Brand Solutions told Broadcasting+Cable.

Disney mounted an ACC FanFest last year, but it was limited by lingering COVID concerns. Still about 12,000 fans attended.

“It’s going to be bigger and better,” Palmieri said. “This is the first year we feel like we’re back to normal where the majority of our brands are activating from an in-person standpoint.”

Disney and the sponsors collaborate on designing the FanFest activations. “They've really put a lot of thought into creating activations that are going to be additive and enhance the fans' game day experience,” she said.

Fans who download the Bojangles app will be eligible for a chance to win Bojangles gift cards throughout the weekend. Additionally, the brand will sponsor interactive activities like biscuit sampling, a vertical leap for fans to test their athleticism, and a traveling tailgate tent. There will also be a Bojangles-themed Jeep Renegade on-site for fan photo opportunities.  

Food Lion recently renewed its position as the official grocer of the ACC for another three-year term. The supermarket chain is the longest-running official sponsorship for the conference. Food Lion will sponsor a quarterback challenge, a plinko game and a 360-cam photo opportunity. The grocery distributor will also host a Food Lion Fresh Produce Stand where fans can sample fresh produce.

The FanFest main stage will house a set for onsite studio programming and ACC Chalk Talk, sponsored by Subway. The sandwich chain will be the presenting sponsor of all studio shows recorded both inside the stadium and on the main stage throughout the weekend. ESPN analysts will be receiving sub deliveries on set during the ACC Huddle ahead of the big game Saturday. Other integrations into programming over the weekend are also planned.

At this year’s event, there will be a big TV screen -- presented by New York Life -- that will let attendees watch the other conference championship games being played before the ACC contest starts at 8 p.m. on Saturday. Disney is also planning on showing the U.S. national team's game against the Netherlands in the World Cup.

On TV, Subway is the presenting sponsors of the ACC football championship game. “Their brand is going to be prominent during the ABC telecast,” Palmieri said.

The other brands will have a presence on the Disney’s ACC Network, which will be showing studio shows and other programming leading up to the game. The network will also show scenes from the FanFest.

“That studio coverage is going to take us to 8:00 p.m. That's when we'll punt it over to ABC and they'll tackle what's happening on the field, Palmieri said. ■

The TV schedule for live sports programming airing during the last weekend in October begins at the diamond, with Fox televising Game 2 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Also on Saturday, Showtime will distribute via pay-per-view a boxing card featuring YouTube star Jake Paul and former UFC mixed martial arts champion Anderson Silva. In addition, ESPN Plus will feature a UFC Fight Night event featuring featherweights Calvin Kattar and Arnold Allen. 

Week nine of the college football season begins Saturday in Florida with the Florida Gators facing top-ranked Georgia on CBS and second-ranked Ohio State visiting 13th-ranked Penn State on Fox. Third-ranked Tennessee will face 19th-ranked Kentucky on ESPN, and fourth-ranked Michigan will take on in-state rival Michigan State on ABC. 

Other games include No. 7 TCU-West Virginia (ESPN), No. 8 Oregon-Cal (FS1), No. 9 Oklahoma State-No. 22 Kansas State (Fox) and No. 10 Wake Forest-Louisville (ACC Network).

On Sunday, Aaron Rogers and the Green Bay Packers will face Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in NBC’s NFL Sunday Night Football telecast.

On the soccer field, CBS on Saturday will televise the National Women's Soccer League championship game between Portland and Kansas City. Also, USA Network, Peacock and NBC will distribute 11 live English Premier League games combined on Saturday and Sunday while ABC and FS1 will each televise an MLS game on Sunday. 

NBC on Saturday will televise the Xfinity Series Dead on Tools 250 race, and on Sunday will air the NASCAR Cup Xfinity 500. ■  

The Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin pay-per-view boxing match punches up the list of live TV sports events airing this weekend. 

The DAZN and PPV.com-distributed fight card will pit WBC, WBA WBO and IBF super middleweight champion Alvarez against former champion Golovkin for the third time in the last five years. The first two Alvarez-Golovkin fights in 2017 and 2018 generated a combined 2.4 million PPV buys, according to industry sources. The Alvarez-Golovkin PPV bout retails at a suggested price of $84.99. 

The WNBA Finals continue Sunday with game-four of the Connecticut Sun-Las Vegas Aces. The Aces travel to Connecticut leading two games to one and hoping to close out the best-of-five series.

On the football field, the second week of the NFL season kicks off with Sunday afternoon regional coverage on Fox and CBS. NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast will feature a matchup between NFL North division rivals Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. 

On the college football front, ESPN will offer coverage of top-ranked Georgia’s game against South Carolina, while the SEC Network will telecast second-rank Alabama’s matchup against UL Monroe. In other games, Fox will air third-rank Ohio State-Toledo, ABC will deliver fourth-ranked Michigan-UConn and ACC Network will feature fifth-ranked Clemson-Louisiana Tech. 

The remaining games featuring top 10-ranked schools include No. 6 Oklahoma-Nebraska (Fox), no. 7 USC-Fresno State (Fox), No. 8 Oklahoma State-Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Big 12 Network), No. 9 Kentucky-Youngstown State (SEC Network) and No. 10 Arkansas-Missouri State (ESPN Plus).

Streaming service ESPN Plus will offer a UFC Fight Night card on Saturday featuring a main event bout between bantamweights Cory Sandhagen and Song Yadong. 

The Premier League returns to action with USA Network and NBC airing five live games across Saturday and Sunday.

As the Major League Baseball season winds down, ESPN on Sunday will televise the Los Angeles Dodgers-San Francisco Giants as part of its Sunday Night Baseball telecast. ■  

Disney Ad Sales said sponsors will be on the road with the ACC Network's The ACC Huddle as the show travels to five college campuses this season.

Bojangles, Food Lion, Gatorade, New York Life and Subway will be able to connect with college football fans on their home turf this season. 

"We are thrilled to have The ACC Huddle back on the road and bring our sponsors along for the ride,” said Theresa Palmieri, VP, Disney Advertising Sports Brand Solutions. “This is a huge benefit to our ACC partners, and we are happy to provide them with a unique and interactive opportunity to engage with their consumers in a way that only Disney can.”

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This weekend The ACC Huddle will be in Blacksburg, Virginia, where Virginia Tech will take on Boston College. 

Brands will have a presence while the show is being televised and a chance to interact with students, fans and alumni.

Fans will have the opportunity to be part of the telecasts by participating in numerous ACC Network-themed activities, sponsor activations, giveaways. They can also watch live football games streamed on several giant screens and televisions throughout the area.

The ACC Network is owned and operated by ESPN in partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference. ■

This weekend’s busy lineup of live TV sports events begins on the gridiron as the National Football League kicks off its opening weekend of regular season games. 

Along with Sunday regional coverage of NFL games on CBS and Fox, NBC will air its first Sunday Night Football game featuring two of the league’s more popular teams, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys.

This weekend’s college football schedule begins with top ranked Alabama facing Texas on Fox and second-ranked Georgia taking on Samford on SEC Network. Third-ranked Ohio State will match up with Arkansas State on the Big Ten Network, fourth-ranked Michigan battling Hawai’i on Big Ten Network and fifth-ranked Clemson going up against Furman on the ACC Network.

The rest of the top ten ranked teams include No. 6 Texas A&M-Appalachian State (ESPN2), No. 7 Oklahoma-Kent State (ESPN Plus), No. 8 Notre Dame-Marshall (NBC), No. 9 Baylor-BYU (ESPN) and No. 10 USC at Stanford (ABC).

In the octagon, ESPN Plus will distribute the UFC 279 mixed martial arts pay-per-view event featuring the main event bout between welterweights Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz. 

The U.S. Open tennis tournament will conclude this weekend with the women’s finals match airing on ESPN Saturday and the men’s finals airing live Sunday afternoon.

The Major League Baseball season continues to wind down with ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball coverage of the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs contest.■ 

Heading off what could have been a major disruption, Comcast has reached a new deal to carry The Walt Disney Co.’s content.

Disney and Comcast have had a touchy relationship since Disney outbid Comcast for 21st Century Fox. Comcast remains a minority owner in Hulu, now controlled by Disney, and two two companies have issues including how much Hulu is worth when Comcast sells its stake and how much content from Comcast’s NBCUniversal unit Hulu will have access to.

The deal Comcast and Disney agreed to in 2012 expired Sept. 30, and the two sides have been negotiating in relative quiet ever since.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Under the new deal, Comcast will launch the ACC Network, run by Disney’s ESPN.

Comcast already makes Hulu and Disney’s newer streaming services, Disney Plus and ESPN Plus, available to its subscribers through its X1 operating system.

“We are very pleased to have reached this comprehensive agreement with Disney to continue providing Xfinity customers access to their content across our industry-leading platforms,” said Rebecca Heap, senior VP, consumer products & propositions, Comcast Cable.

Retransmission consent for Disney’s ABC TV stations was renewed in the new agreement. Comcast will also continue to carry cable channels including the ESPN networks, the Disney-branded networks, the FX Networks, the National Geographic channels, Freeform and the SEC Network.

“We’re very happy to extend our longstanding relationship with Comcast and continue to provide their Xfinity customers with Disney’s best-in-class programming,” said Sean Breen, executive VP, platform distribution, Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution. “In addition to our news, sports and general entertainment offerings, the launch of the ACC Network in the coming weeks, paired with the renewal of the SEC Network, will give Xfinity’s college sports fans long-awaited access to their favorite games.” ■

Atlantic Broadband said it will launch ESPN's ACC Network (ACCN) on its systems Sept. 1.

ACCN carries more than 500 games — regular season and tournament — over 27 sports involving schools from the collegiate Atlantic Coast Conference, plus news and information and original programming. Combined with its digital ACCNX platform that totals more than 1,500 ACC events annually.

Atlantic Broadband, a top 10 cable broadband provider, will offer the games on its expanded basic variety tiers in states with an ACC school and on digital basic family in other markets.

The games can also be accessed via the ESPN app.

“We are excited to add tremendous value to our channel lineups with the addition of ACCN,” said Heather McCallion, VP of products and programming at Atlantic Broadband. “This latest enhancement will bring fans of the Atlantic Coast Conference the biggest matchups in college football and much more just as the season begins."

The ACC schools are Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, University of Louisville, University of Miami, University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, Notre Dame, University of Pittsburgh, Syracuse, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution said it signed a new multi-year distribution agreement with the National Cable Television Cooperative that includes Disney streaming services Disney Plus and ESPN Plus along with its array of broadcast and cable channels.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The NCTC represents more than 700 small- and mid-sized independent cable and broadband operators.

The deal expands distribution of Disney’s ACC Network, effective Sept. 1.

Disney’s Hulu had already been available to some NCTC members. Under the new agreement they will be able to link customers directly to Disney Plus and ESPN Plus via their websites.

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“Our new deal with the NCTC will allow member operators to continue serving their customers across the country by delivering Disney’s robust and expansive portfolio of networks, which includes the addition of the ACC Network,” said Sean Breen, executive VP, platform distribution, Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution. “We’re incredibly pleased that the agreement will also now give their members’ customers direct access to our collection of streaming services.” 

The deal encompasses Disney channels including the ESPN networks, the Disney-branded networks, Freeform, FX, National Geographic and retransmission of the ABC-owned television stations.

“Our member operators are committed to providing their customers with the programming they want to watch on the platform they prefer," said Judy Meyka, executive VP, programming at the NCTC. "Disney has been a valued partner over the years, and we are pleased to now expand that partnership to include access to premium streaming bundles on Disney’s multiple platforms. Our focus continues to be on making quality programming available to members in a manner that allows them flexibility to serve the needs of their customers.” 

Mediacom Communications has reached a multi-year comprehensive carriage agreement with Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, that will include the mid-sized operator taking on Disney’s ACC Network.

Mediacom said it would add ACC Network to its lineup, offering access to Atlantic Coast Conference games and programming beginning in September. The companies added that the multi-year deal also reaffirms their "mutual commitment to enhance the customer experience by delivering video content to viewers across multiple platforms."

In addition to the ACC Network, Mediacom will continue to carry Disney’s ESPN networks, its Disney branded channels, Freeform, the FX networks and the National Geographic channels. The deal also covers retransmission consent for Disney’s owned and operated ABC television stations. 

“We couldn’t be more pleased to extend our long-standing relationship with Mediacom and continue to supply Disney’s best-in-class programming from our suite of networks,” Sean Breen, EVP, Platform Distribution, Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, said in a press release. “With Mediacom’s strong presence in key markets, the addition of the ACC Network and its extensive offerings of live sporting events will add tremendous value for their customers.”

Mediacom is the fifth largest cable operator in the country with about 611,000 video and 1.5 million broadband customers across 22 states, primarily in the Midwest and Southeast.  

“Since Mediacom’s inception over 25 years ago, it has been our mission to serve our customers with state-of-the-art technology and expansive content,” Mediacom EVP of Programming and Human Resources Italia Commisso Weinand said in a press release. “We are proud and honored to continue our relationship with the Disney organization that shares this same commitment to quality and innovation.”  

New York Life, which was a founding sponsor of ESPN’s ACC Network in 2019, has re-upped with a new three-year sponsorship deal, the companies said.

As part of the renewal, New York Life will return as title sponsor and exclusive presenting sponsor of the New York Life ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament. Games from the tournament are televised on ESPN and the ACC Network.

“We are proud to continue the long-standing partnership between New York Life and the ACC,” said David Williams, corporate VP, brand advertising and sponsorships at New York Life. “Beyond the obvious athletic excitement, we’ve succeeded in serving a variety of organizations and communities over the course of our relationship. We look forward to further collaboration as we continue this impactful work.” 

Financial terms were not disclosed.

“New York Life has been instrumental to ACC Network as a founding sponsor and has long supported the ACC. We’re delighted to deepen our relationship with New York Life across ACC Network and the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament, said Theresa Palmieri, VP, sports brand solutions, Disney Advertising Sales.

The agreement also includes in-arena signage and in-game promotional tie-ins., as well as TV, digital and social media ad inventory on ACC Network and ESPN platforms.

ESPN yesterday (Aug. 22) officially launched its much talked about ACC Network -- the latest college sports conference to launch a stand-alone network -- along with the requisite criticisms about lack of distribution deals with some major cable and satellite companies.

Much like with its predecessors the Pac-12 Networks, SEC Network and the Big Ten Network, a lot has been written about the ACC Network’s struggle to sign carriage deals with all top distributors, as Comcast (Xfinity) and Cox Communications and satellite-TV service Dish Network are sitting on the sidelines for the launch. Those distributors serve many of the areas within the ACC footprint, which includes 15 colleges stretching across much of the east coast including 2019 NCAA college basketball champion Virginia Cavaliers and college football champion Clemson Tigers.

Industry experts say however, that unlike previous college conference-based networks, the ACC has benefited from the advent of virtual MVPDs. Network carriage deals with Playstation Vue, Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV have provided the network with a national footprint, allowing sports fans digital access to the ACC Network anywhere in the country, irrespective of deals with cable and satellite service providers. ESPN does have distribution deals with Charter (Spectrum), Altice USA (Optimum and Suddenlink), Verizon Fios, DirecTV and NCTC members. And while ACC is on DirecTV, it's not on AT&T's vMVPD, AT&T TV Now. 

“Unfortunately when traditional sports media covers network launches they tend to go at it from the standpoint of someone’s local cable or satellite system, and figure if its not on that [service] then nobody can get the network,” said sports consultant Lee Berke. “The reality is that the ACC Network can be obtained nationally on these virtual MVPDs -- everyone in the footprint of the ACC Network can obtain the network if they want to buy a virtual MVPD that carries the network. Is everyone going to go that route and drop their cable subscriptions? No, but it is available to anyone who wants to see it.”

Indeed, ESPN senior vice president of college networks Rosalyn Durant said in a recent ACC Network conference call that ESPN is “very pleased with the distribution agreements that we have in place currently,” referencing deals with virtual MVPDs that can “cover the ACC footprint and beyond the footprint.”

The ACC Network -- which industry sources say costs around $1 for distributors within the ACC Conference footprint and around half that outside the footprint -- will offer approximately 450 live contests including 40 regular-season football games, 150 men’s and women’s basketball games, and 200 other regular-season competitions and tournament games annually from across the conference’s 27 sponsored sports, according to network officials.

ESPN, which has a long-term rights deal for all ACC conference events for much of the next two decades, will distribute most of the conference's marquee college football and college basketball games on ESPN and ABC, with the ACC carrying the lion’s share of other live event and shoulder programming from the conference, said industry observers.

The existence of vMVPDs changes the strategy of how distribution deals are done, according to Berke. ESPN now can wait until exiting deals with MVPDs are renewed to package in the ACC Network while still providing the conference’s sports fans with access to the channel through the $50 per month PlayStation Vue, Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV. Prior to the advent of vMVPDs, a new network's distribution success was beholden to traditional distributors to reach their target audiences.

“The media landscape now is vastly different than it was five years ago with our last linear network launch,” ESPN's Durant said. “How we think about success for a network launch is the same. It's about having ... a multiplicity of providers, and we've always had the traditional. Now we also have the streaming providers to add to that mix.”

Obviously ESPN’s ultimate goal is to have full carriage for the ACC Network across all linear and digital distributors. The virtual MVPDs allow the network to reach fans while negotiations continue, according to ESPN. “So while we are incredibly pleased with the options that we have in place with our streaming partners and others, we are confident that there will be other announcements in the very near future,” Durant said.

Charter Communications said it has reached a comprehensive carriage deal with the Walt Disney Co., a multi-year deal that includes not only its flagship linear channels, but it existing and upcoming streaming services ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+.

The deal includes carriage of Disney’s ABC broadcast stations, pay TV channels like Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Bases Loaded, SEC Network, and Longhorn Network, as well as the newly acquired networks of FX, FXX, FXM, Fox Life, National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Mundo, and BabyTV. In addition, Charter said it will offer customers access to ESPN’s ACC Network, when it launches on Aug. 22. Both Disney and Charter also said they will work together on piracy mitigation, collaborating to implement rules and techniques to address unauthorized access and password sharing.

“This agreement will allow Spectrum to continue delivering to its customers popular Disney content, makes possible future distribution by Spectrum of Disney streaming services, and will begin an important collaborative effort to address the significant issue of piracy mitigation,” said Charter EVP, programming acquisition Tom Montemagno said in a press release.

The ACC Network, a partnership between ESPN and the Atlantic Coast Conference, will air 450 live contests including 40 regular-season football games, 150 men’s and women’s basketball games, and more than 200 other regular-season competitions and tournament games from colleges and universities like Duke, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Virginia, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Florida State. In addition, the network will air news and information shows and original programming and together with its digital platform -- ACC Network Extra -- will feature more than 1,350 ACC events in its first year.

ACC Network has landed other carriage deals with DirecTV, Altice USA, Verizon’s FiosTV and streaming services Hulu and PlayStation Vue. 

Comcast offers the digital service ACC Network Extra on its X1 platform, but still hasn’t reached a deal for its linear service. 

“Our new agreement with Charter allows us to continue serving Spectrum TV customers with the full value of the Walt Disney Television and ESPN networks, including the newly acquired FX and Nat Geo networks,” said Disney Media Distribution SVP Sean Breen in a press release. “ACC fans can also rest assured that they will be able to watch their favorite teams on Spectrum, one of the largest distributors across the ACC footprint, when ACC Network launches next week.”

ESPN has signed distributors across multiple platforms to distribute its new ACC Network regional sports service as it prepares for the network’s Aug. 22 launch.

Satellite provider DirecTV joins telco Verizon FiOS,  MVPD Altice and streaming services Hulu and Playstation Vue in carrying the service, which will provide sports content from such conference schools as Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Florida State, according to ESPN.

The deal comes on the heels of ESPN’s marketing push for the network. Under the tagline "We Do This," the multi-platform campaign launched earlier this week will run across ESPN’s owned and operated media including TV, digital, radio and social media, and will include insider nods to each of the fan bases, according to ESPN.

“As we developed this campaign, our goal internally has been to revel in the range of the ACC,” said Michelle Berry, Senior Director of Sports Marketing at ESPN in a statement. “We met that challenge by representing the uniqueness of the member schools while celebrating a dynamic conference that adds up to more than just the sum of its parts.”