An announcement from Packer And Durham: pic.twitter.com/DocDmcZP0m— ACC Network (@accnetwork) June 29, 2022
Kind of stunning news, to be honest. This was basically the flagship programming for the ACC Network and its being unceremoniously ended, with an announcement made 48 hours before its final episode. While I hope this was on their own accord, and that they are moving on to bigger and better things, this has the feeling of ESPN pulling the plug on it.
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Saw them announce it live this morning. Was very strange and out of the blue. The previous segment they were all fired up talking about the upcoming season and the new scheduling arrangement in 2023, then hard pivot to welp our show is cancelled and Friday is our last day. Definitely has the feeling of ESPN/ACC pulling the plug.
After that it seemed like they mailed it in. I got the sense they were kind of caught off guard. Had a very bizarre segment shortly after with a UNC womens lax player where they hardly talked about lacrosse and had her drive through a Starbucks live and order a coffee. Said a few times oh tell them to charge it to ESPN. They had another coach or two to get to but they didn't seem concerned if they even finished the show schedule.
I'm sure we'll see some scintillating replays of things like numerous field hockey games, rowing matches, etc.
Oh it'll be an endless repeat of the same ACC Traditions reruns we've seen for 3 years now plus a few more replays and documentaries about men's basketball in the the 1990s.
If I have to see that John Swofford retirement special one more time...
Submarine races.
Concrete canoe races
Hey those were fun as an undergraduate. We practiced on the duck pond.
I'm thinking a 24/7 loop of Spurdle commercials
FTFY
I suppose they could be moving on to better things, but I doubt it. Maybe the ACC decided old guys with older man humor and waxing about the even older yet ACC days wasn't exactly a brand enhancer and ratings magnet with the 18-49 demo?
And I'm an old guy who remembers the old ACC days.
The downside is it could - and probably will - get worse.
Going all in on prank shows. Just wall to wall broadcasting of people pranking ACC players.
ACCN that doesn't show live sporting events that are happening and the flagship program is gone. Hell of a job ESPN and Swofford!
Fine. Fine. I'll host the show.
Just got ACCN (thanks Xfinity! At least you finally joined the party). I watched the show a couple of times on off days and it was pretty good. It was also, from what I could tell, the only thing on ACCN worth a damn.So they rarely show live games of any sport and now they get rid of the only good original programming they had. Now I'm just a simple man with an engineering degree and not a fancy comms and media degree, but that doesn't seem like a good way to run a sports network
The ACCN has just been racking up W after W, since its inception. First-rate work and content, especially in covering the events we care about. /S
Hope this was because they wanted it to end otherwise this is another shitty move by an already and now crappier network. ACCN during the offseason is wasted space atleast this show was a fun watch during the week and a nice morning show to listen into now itll be even more of a desolate channel.
Yeah I can't help but feel like there's a bit of self sabotage going on with the programming of this network.
Could be because of the ACC aligning itself with the Big Ten/Pac 12 which runs contrary to ESPN's interests and the SEC. Doubt it's to cut costs, the ACCN is already about as bare bones as you can get.
Conspiracy theory - ESPN is trying to orchestrate the collapse of the ACC, like they behind the scenes worked for Texas and OU to the SEC, before the current playoff deal expires in a few years. They want a super SEC and the Big Ten can swoop in and SEC can swoop in and take who they want for the new alignment.
I don't even think this would be a stretch. ESPN doesn't give a crap about 50% of the conference and would love to see VT, FSU, Miami, Duke, UNC, and Clemson in the SEC.
If they only gave a crap about 50% of the ACC then you must be telling me that this whole time MACtion has been a lie?!?!?!
I'm not convinced ESPN cares about VT. That network didn't give 2 shits about fucking over West Virginia, Baylor, TCU, and Oklahoma St in order to get Texas and Oklahoma into the SEC.
I would not put it past them to orchestrate Florida State and Clemson leaving the ACC fucking over everyone else in the same way.
Yes except for UNC and Duke
One scenario I would absolutely love is FSU VT State Miami Clemson to the SEC, leaving UNC and UVA behind in the ravaged ACC who then expands by adding the likes of WVU Memphis ECU and USF
I was just talking about this with a buddy. I don't see the SEC taking duke and UNC and I'm pretty sure that UNC is so far up their own ass that they would stick around the ACC until its collapse. The chance to see poor tobacco road torn apart might be the one great thing Swofford gifted college sports.
I have no idea who the hell is going to pick up UVA.
Big Ten would take UVa, UNC, and GT in a heartbeat if they could. All AAU schools, all are competitive in multiple sports and they each fill needs. I would expect ND to be announced to the B1G within a few weeks at this rate.
Our best and realistically only hope is to get into the SEC. But we have to fight for our spot alongside FSU, Clemson, Miami, NCSU, WVU, UofL, etc. There might be spots there for all of us, but possibly not. You'd hope that we would be desirable on the pecking order but it's really a political crapshoot that very well could work against us.
Would not be shocked if schools like Duke, Wake, BC all end up in the Big East for most sports and then maybe AAC or SunBelt for football.
You're probably right but it doesn't mean their logic is sound. UNC offers nothing but a basketball brand, UVA offers nothing. State VT and Miami are all more valuable and should be next in line after Clemson and FSU.
After careful consideration and consultation with my wife, I have decided that, if offered, I will not accept a position replacing Packer And Durham on ACCN OR ESPN.
Mark and EJ in the morning coming soon. /s
you might be joking but I would say this is more probably than not. They're already at ESPN, ACC alum, and the fit the younger demographic that counters the "old man demo" mentioned above.
Maybe they're gonna go for the 65 to near dead demo and bring back Lou Holtz and Mark May.
Wait, did you people actually watch this show?
This is what I came for, I only saw bits and pieces but it never seemed like something to watch. I always thought it was filler content.
I sure didn't
but it was a show...and it was watched. not watched enough apparently
Definitely felt like an ESPN/ACC move.
Sidenote, although I think they are fine people with decent insight, I never really got much out of the program.
I watched more during football season and it was pretty good then, mainly to learn more about the other teams in the conference.
I found this from last year's presser on the original programming. https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2021/08/acc-networks-studio-...
What is major about this announcement today is that first, this was one of only 6 original programs that were airing on ACCN. Second, this is a massive prime 3 hour block every weekday morning that now needs/should be filled. Either they have something major announced to fill that spot, or ESPN has just lost touch.
I hope they have something lined up, because if they're just cutting costs with the ACC Network only to turn around and give the (as rumored) SEC a >$1 billion per year contract after Texas and Oklahoma move (a move that ESPN has been proved to have orchestrated) then its completely disastrous for the ACCN and the ACC in general.
There is so much about this that is just wrong, and is not talked about enough. Maybe we have a Hokie lawyer on here that can explain it to me, but it just feels like some kind of Anti Trust law or something would come into play.
I don't think it's been conclusively proven.
Honestly, the whole thing is pure corruption. ESPN is trying to be the one power that controls all of college sports. They want to be the ones who control which schools play in which conferences, which conferences are important, and which schools win the national title. Their entire business model since the mid-1990s has been to manipulate college football and college basketball into something that benefits ESPN first and foremost. To find out that ESPN took an active role into effectively blowing up the Big XII in order to get Texas and Oklahoma into their SEC is repulsive and something that makes me seriously question how much I want to follow college sports going forward.
Not a lawyer but I am not sure how anti-trust is associated with college conferences. They aren't business, they arent for-profit, they arent businesses. No NCAA rules limit who can make a conference as long as there are 7+ members which are title 9 compliant and have atleast 12 sports teams.
The NCAA got hit with a huge antitrust suit back in the 80s over controlling school's tv rights. That's why it's now in control of the conferences.
Technically the school control their rights, they just sold them away to the conferences
As you mention about ESPN meddling with Texas and Oklahoma and their move to the SEC, I'm really wondering if ESPN is trying to hasten the financial collapse of the ACC before the current playoff deal expires in a few years so the SEC and Big Ten can come and take who they want for the new super conference alignment.
Not disagreeing... this is just obligatory
Had to chuckle a little bit...D&P was maybe the lowest budget show on any network. It literally was a zoom call out of two guys basements.
I for one will miss the show. Not much else has been worth watching.
I loved it, particularly in the August timeframe waiting to get football season started.
I watched this occasionally when working from home, especially if I knew there would be a Hokie segment, and thought it was generally pretty good. My only real complaint is that sometimes it felt fairly awkward when Durham would get excited about something or make a joke and Packer is just sitting there silent, looking like an annoyed old man. I think he just has resting b-face though and wasn't actually annoyed.
Don't they air Packer and Durham once then replay it after? I'm guessing ACCN will do what the SECN and Big Ten Network do at that time: replay the 1986 Citrus Bowl and then last year's Duke's Mayo Bowl.
Had a feeling Pack was sticking around by all he was saying on twitter about it when Packer and durham was shut down. Curious how this will work if itll be just him or he will do guests like he would do when wes wasnt around.
If he resides in North Carolina, just call it "Packer from Durham"?
I enjoy Wes as commentator so I hope he gets a bigger role there
So Packer lost his 4pm XM time slot and then petitioned to get the 4 pm slot on ACC network? My understanding is that they are moving 'ACC Today' to the morning.
My biggest frustration is that this all happened going into one of the ACCs premiere events (Media Days) without any apparent clear direction. Couldn't they have announced this at media days and then made the change afterwards with new content to talk about. Now it seems like I've got 3 weeks of replays on ACC radio with so much happening in the conference landscape. The other conference networks aren't just replaying the broadcasts from their media days for 4 days straight. We look like a G5/RSN network
A microcosm of the ACC right here
Oh after Phillips' comments about the current state of college athletics and how much he wishes we could go back to the "true amateur athlete" to open Media Days last week, perhaps showing all those replays from the self proclaimed glory days of college athletics is a strategic decision from the ACC, and not ESPN.