Can the ACC Network eventually become a bigger moneymaker for the ACC?

The ACC Network is in 90 million homes, which is great news for the ACC and its member schools, who need the too-long-delayed network to start raking in the money.

The ACC pays out $31 million a year to its schools from its TV deal with ESPN, which sounds nice, but the ACC’s payouts are woefully behind those of the SEC and Big Ten, which are in the $55 million a year range, and going nowhere but up.

By 2030, the SEC and Big Ten are projected to be paying out $100 million to $110 million a year to their schools, while the ACC’s TV revenues are expected to fall more in the $50 million to $55 million a year range.

The only way to improve there is to get people to tune in, meaning programming has to be an important point of focus for the ACC and ESPN.

On that front, the two are still working out the various kinks to the programming schedule for ACCN, which launched in 2019.

The network recently shuttered its signature weekday morning show, “Packer and Durham,” and despite the happy face that everybody involved tried to put on the move, the indication to me is that it came out of nowhere.

I’m going to use the dreaded term “source” to report that a “source” who would 100 percent know told us today that the show’s end was announced internally with only a couple of days of advance warning.

Which would seem to hint that the programming folks are still flying a bit by the seat of their pants, a notion reinforced by the programming for the “Packer and Durham” 7-10 a.m. Monday-Friday time slot since the show was taken off the air, consisting of repeats of past ACCN game broadcasts, which can’t be moving any needles ratings-wise.

Good news on that front: ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said today that the network is set to debut a weekday afternoon show, “ACC P.M.,” hosted by Mark Packer, on Monday, Aug. 22.

The show, according to Phillips, will face a football focus, which is fine for the here and now, though we have to hope that the focus will shift when we get to basketball season.

(It almost certainly will. I’m busting Phillips’ chops there.)

Line of the day goes to Phillips in his announcement regarding “ACC P.M.” and its host, Packer, who, according to Phillips, “is going to be coming out of the witness protection program since he last aired at the end of June.”

The commish also offered details on other ACCN programming involving its road trip series that will visit all 14 ACC football programs next month, and “The Huddle,” the unwatchable football studio show, which Phillips said will be back on the road during the 2022 season, beginning with Week 0 in Chapel Hill.

The moneymakers there are “ACC P.M.,” which gives you a reason to tune in weekdays, and better live football (and eventually basketball) game content.

The best game I see on the schedule in the first four weeks is either Louisville-Syracuse in Week 1 or Boston College-Virginia Tech in Week 2.

I’m not sensing a lot of people rushing to their cable or satellite providers to make sure they don’t miss anything.