ACC announces TV deal with The CW for football, basketball game package

Nick Gray, Greenville News
·2 min read
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Say goodbye to the RSNs and say hello to the CW, Clemson fans.

The CW Network will show 50 ACC football, men's basketball and women's basketball games in total each season through 2026-27, the league announced Thursday. The games will be produced by Raycom Sports.

The coverage will start on Sept. 9 with a game between Pitt and Cincinnati. 13 football games, 28 men's basketball games and 9 women's basketball games will be shown on The CW in 2023-24, the league said in its release.

“We are thrilled to be adding The CW to our weekly television lineup for ACC football and basketball games,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said in the release. “The CW’s national distribution will directly benefit our student-athletes, teams, alumni and fans. We appreciate ESPN and Raycom working together and look forward to the partnership with The CW.”

NextTV first reported in June the separation between the Diamond Sports Group, the company that owns the Bally Sports regional networks including Bally Sports South, and Raycom Sports regarding the ACC TV contract in a motion filed in a Houston court as a part of Diamond's bankruptcy.

Clemson defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro (33) raises the ACC Championship trophy near team players after the game over North Carolina in the ACC Championship football gameat Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina Saturday, Dec 3, 2022. Clemson won 39-10.
Clemson defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro (33) raises the ACC Championship trophy near team players after the game over North Carolina in the ACC Championship football gameat Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina Saturday, Dec 3, 2022. Clemson won 39-10.

Since Raycom still owns the rights to that portion of the ACC television package, a new home needed to be found for those games. And while unusual, the ACC has found it. The CW's sports profile has grown over the last year, adding the LIV Golf League last year and becoming the new home for longtime weekly show 'Inside The NFL' this fall.

While the CW is over-the-air and can be found via a digital tuner and antenna, the Greenville CW affiliate CW62 is owned by Nexstar Media Group, whose stations are currently off the air on DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and AT&T U-Verse due to a carriage dispute.

Clemson football has not had a game on the Raycom-produced package since a 2016 win against South Carolina State, but Clemson basketball had 6 games televised on the RSNs last season while Clemson women's basketball had 4.

The rest of the ACC television package is owned by ESPN and will be shown on its family of networks including the ACC Network. Clemson football kicks off its 2023 season on Sept. 4 at Duke on ESPN.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: ACC announces TV deal with The CW for 50 football, basketball games

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