ESPN announces certain ACC football games, CFP will be shown in movie theaters for 2023 season
ESPN has partnered with an unusual entity to show some ACC and College Football Playoff games this fall: Movie theaters. The sports broadcasting giant announced the move to partner with Theater Sports Network on Tuesday.
In total, the agreement will result in around 75 games being broadcast in theaters during the 2023-24 college football season. Along with regular season games, the deal includes New Years Six bowls and the three games in the four-team College Football Playoff.
According to the release: “ACC games that air on ESPN platforms are available for Theater Sports Network distribution in the away team markets – or in both home and away markets for neutral site games. The cost of attendance to watch the games will be determined by participating local theaters.”
More info on locations and broadcast schedules can be found at Theater Sports Network’s website.
ESPN has in past years partnered with a firm to show the two CFP semifinals and the national championship in certain theaters.
“We believe movie theaters are the next great frontier for live sporting events, and we are elated with this unprecedented agreement with ESPN. We look forward to bringing these games to ACC football fans. We believe that theaters have the ability to generate excitement around live sporting events. These events will replicate the feel of a football stadium experience as fans gather and fill theaters to watch the games on the big screen. As we move forward, we hope to add games from additional college football conferences as well as other live sporting events,” said Scott Daw, COO of Theater Sports Network.
The ACC is pushing to be part of a ‘Power 3’ going forward
The ACC could cause college football could head towards a “Power 3” model, according to ESPN’s Heather Dinich. Currently, there are the “Power 5” conferences, but the Pac-12 was decimated amid realignment.
With Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah went to the Big 12 and Oregon and Washington were the latest teams to join the Big Ten, along with USC and UCLA. With four teams left in the Pac-12, the conference is almost assuredly out of the “power” conferences and the ACC could be next, per Dinich.
“It depends on what happens in the ACC, Greeny,” Dinich said on Get Up in early August. “That’s where all eyes in college athletics are right now because Florida State’s president was very vocal recently about saying ‘give us more money or we are out.’ It was a public squeeze but it came at a time when the rest of the collegiate landscape was so volatile.
“So it was also raising their hand saying ‘hey, if you want to take us we’ll go,’ but they don’t have any options right now. No offers or invitations from the SEC or the Big Ten.”