(08-28-2019 11:21 AM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(08-28-2019 10:47 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(08-28-2019 08:44 AM)orangefan Wrote:  

(08-27-2019 09:14 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(08-27-2019 03:04 PM)stever20 Wrote:  correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the ACC RSN package gone now- with all games exclusive to the ACC Network?

No, they still remain as lost revenue for the ACCN. The legacy of the forced marriage with Raycom lives on through it.

Correct. ESPN and the ACC bought out the Raycom sublicensing arrangement, but that contract was still subject to a further sublicensing agreement with the Fox RSNs. Fox would needed to have been dealt with separately.

Ironically, Disney acquired these rights as part of the larger purchase of Fox assets, but the feds required Disney to divest the Fox RSNs. I'm guessing Disney did not want to risk doing anything that might have appeared to undermine its compliance with the the divestiture requirement when it sold the Fox RSNs to Sinclair. If the sale hadn't been required by such an order, it's the kind of asset they may have tried to keep.

The rights will eventually revert to ESPN, IIRC around 2026. Now that the sale to Sinclair is complete, ESPN could try to negotiate an arms length deal to reacquire the rights without jeopardizing its divestiture obligation. Alternatively, Sinclair's selection rights are pretty far down the pecking order, so the value of the package may not be huge in any event.

While it hurts revenue, it helps in one area: one to two more ACC football games will be on TV on Saturday (as opposed to possibly on a weeknight or on the ACCNX).

If a game is on TV and nobody watches does it matter? Exactly how many eyeballs do you expect to tune in to watch NC State & Western Carolina on Saturday Sept 7th at 12:30PM? At least if the game were on the ACCN we would see some benefit from the advertising, with it being on the RSN we get nothing.

For the league, agreed. For the fans of that school who don't want to be stuck playing on a Thursday or Friday night, the RSN game (on Saturday) is better. Don't get me wrong, though, I don't like it any more than you do.

The Raycom contract is truly the "gift" that keeps on "giving"... and by giving, I mean taking.