Report: FSU, ACC schools spending millions on new network before launch
By Jason Parker
FSU and the other 14 member schools of the ACC are spending as much as $7 million to prepare for the new ACC Network – two years before it launches.
In 2019, FSU and the other member schools of the ACC will get a chance to join the ranks of other Power Five conferences in having their own network exclusively televising many games of those 15 total schools. From football to baseball and soccer to volleyball, the Seminoles, Hurricanes, Hokies and others are going to get a lot more exposure if everything goes according to plans.
While officials have said each school will see a substantial payday thanks to the cable outlet, each school is apparently starting in the red as a result of it. An article in the Hampton Roads (VA) Daily Press, when talking about Virginia and Virginia Tech, mentioned that each school is having to spend millions over two calendar years before the launch:
"[Whit] Babcock, the Hokies’ athletic director, ballparks the infrastructure cost at $5 million-$7 million. His colleagues at the University of Virginia concur.U.Va. recently completed $6 million in upgrades that include control rooms and a spacious studio. Years in the planning, the project awaited only last summer’s green light from the conference and its broadcast partner, ESPN."
The article went on to say that delays in starting to get the network studios and items ready on each college campus had to do with schools wanting to make sure they knew exactly what equipment, wiring and other items were needed – something that SEC schools had to deal with getting on the fly after changes before their launch in 2014.
The article did go on to say something that should make fans of the Seminoles proud that we know what we’re doing:
"Virginia, Florida State and Duke are far ahead of pace, with the ACC’s 12 other campuses in various states of readiness."
There is no doubt that, if the ACC network does go off as scheduled in 2019 (a legit question after all the budget cuts and money woes ESPN has faced this year), FSU will be on the network plenty in all sports.
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The school actually made history during the Tallahassee Regional at the end of May, when Seminole Productions and ESPN produced the entire weekend from the facilities built by the university in advance of the network’s debut.