At this stage, if you’re an ACC fan and Comcast subscriber, and you want to see any of the three conference football games this kickoff weekend, you’re shit out of luck.
There is no news on the negotiations between ESPN and Comcast over making the ACC Network available via the cable carrier, on the eve of Thursday’s ACC opener between defending national champion Clemson and Georgia Tech.
Fans wanting to tune in to see UVA-Pitt and Virginia Tech-Boston College are on the clock as well, throwing into question the strategies of all involved – the ACC, ESPN and Comcast.
For the ACC, you have to question the wisdom of altering its schedule to throw three conference games on the first weekend.
Yes, it was an obvious negotiating ploy, to get the big boys in cable carriers to feel some pressure from subscribers, but it’s just as obvious that the big boys make too much money to care.
Another reason to add to the pile of reasons to think the folks in Greensboro ultimately don’t care about the fans.
For ESPN, actually, there’s no skin off the noses of those in Bristol. They’ll wait it out and make money eventually, even if eventually is into basketball season.
What are ACC fans going to do? Cut the cord with ESPN?
For Comcast, there is the risk of the cord getting cut, with the ACC Network being made available on YouTube TV, Hulu and PlayStation Vue.
And also, for us here at Augusta Free Press, our home office happens to be located in an area serviced by Lumos Networks, which is offering the ACC Network, though, bad news for us, we waited too long to make the call to get service connected, and it will be early next week before we get it.
We currently spend $260 per month on services from Comcast, so the difference of a dollar or two per month per subscriber is going to cost Comcast more than $3,000 when they lose us.
That has to add up eventually, even for an entity as big as Comcast.
Column by Chris Graham
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