ACC Network could be monumental failure with launch one week away

The ACC Network has been talked about now for over three years since its launch was announced and still doesn’t have several major carriers on board.

Since July of 2016, folks in the ACC have been talking about their upcoming cable network that has been plugged in as one that is going to revolutionize the way the league and its sports are covered – while, at the same time, keeping the league hostage under the watchful eye of the cable partner helping to put it together, ESPN.

With the kickoff of the ACC Network now just one week away, many people who still have cable boxes plugged into their walls from places like Miami to Tampa to even Tallahassee all have one thing in common: their major cable providers won’t be showing the ACC Network when it kicks off coverage on August 22nd.

Even with three years – not months, but years – to get this whole thing rolling so that it looked seamless at the end, the ACC has continued to show why it may be one of the biggest conferences nationally in terms of team numbers and locations, but still has much to work on when it comes to getting the job done.

Florida State Seminoles

In South Florida for example, major providers like Comcast – which, in full disclosure, is my cable provider – have not signed on as of today and it doesn’t look promising at this point. Why? The answer could be in the fact that the network is not providing the programing that makes me want to call Comcast and demand they carry it.

We, as members of the Florida State University alumni and fan base, aren’t part of the cult like mentality that comes with being a fan of a school in another conference that has its own cable network – we know that the annual FSU football games with Clemson, Miami or Florida won’t be on it, so where is the desire?

Recently, FSU athletics director David Coburn penned a letter urging fans of the Seminoles to switch their providers to one that carries the ACC Network.

"“With the launch of the ACC Network just over two weeks away, we are now recommending that FSU fans who have Comcast, DISH Network, or Frontier Communications switch providers to ensure they do not miss any of the action.”"

With all due respect the Coburn and the FSU family, I have Comcast because I get a damn good discount on it as an employee of NBCUniversal, which is owned by the provider. I can take my savings and go to one of the dozen or so sports bars within miles of my home to watch the once in a while events involving the Seminoles.

The bottom line is this: it should never have gotten to this point. The first call when the network was being worked on – or at the worst, the first call after it was announced – should have been from the ACC and ESPN to major outlets like Comcast or DISH to ensure that they would provide.

Yet, three years later, we have school officials trying to clean up what appears to be an inevitable disaster when it comes to fans not being able to watch it in markets where schools play in the conference – showing once again the ineptness of those in charge.