As conference realignment churns and a handful of its own schools are looking to leave, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips expressed confidence at conference meetings on Wednesday that the league will keep its media deal with ESPN for the maximum possible duration, into 2036.
This is despite there being a reported option for ESPN to pick up by February 2025 to continue holding the media rights for the ACC into 2036. When asked about it on Wednesday, Phillips said the relationship between the ACC and ESPN is strong — the league and network co-operate the ACC Network — and he expects it to continue to 2036.
He described the provision for February 2025 as a “look in” for ESPN.
“The partnership’s not going away or being affected in a negative way at all,” Phillips said, according to ESPN’s David Hale. “It’s a look in and we’re handling some of what that states.”
While Phillips characterized the provision as a look in — basically a chance for ESPN to renegotiate or alter the deal after a probationary period holding the media rights — a lawsuit by Florida State aimed largely at helping the Seminoles exit the conference holds that the contract function for ESPN to use in February 2025 as an option, meaning they’d basically be choosing between continuing to carry the rights or dump the ACC.
Any decision made by ESPN or the ACC around this contract provision for ESPN won’t come into effect until after the 2027 season.
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