ACC Look in with ESPN has been relatively quiet for the most part. I am sure there is a lot of negotiation going on between Phillips and ESPN. I have heard that this is ONLY for the main contract and has nothing to do with the ACCN part of the deal which runs through 2036. The main contract however is vastly underpaid in today's market (17 million per year/per team) was the original agreement. The look-In was designed to look at the contract and see if what the conference is paid matches the going rate which we know it is not even close. We also know that ESPN is a bit underwater and has the NBA contract coming up. They don't want to pay anymore. Does ESPN decline the option to renew, Does the ACC get more funds from ESPN, or does it stay the same as it is now with no more funding but maybe ESPN says they will put more games on ESPN/ABC for exposure. If ESPN does renew, will there be another look-in around 2030? So few details are coming out on these things. It does seem like Clemson/FSU vs. the ACC has lost some steam lately and there was talk about the ACC offering some of the schools more of the revenue stream because of their TV value (Is this part of the ACC/ESPN Look-In Negotiation, possibly?)
I personally don't have any confidence in Jim Philips to negotiate with TV providers at all. ESPN will walk all over Philips IMO especially with the lawsuits going on and the uncertainty of the league going forward. The ACC would be smart to bring in a big wig TV guy to do this type of negotiating for the next renewal contract in 2036 if teams remain in the ACC. Hopefully, we will be long gone by then, but who knows at this point. If ESPN walks away from the main contract this year, can the ACC go to market and get a bigger deal from someone else like NBC,CBS, or Fox or some combination of the three like the Big 10 did? Or does the ACC get stuck with looking at Amazon Prime, Apple, or some streaming TV company that the PAC12 was only getting offers from?
We should find out a lot more in the coming months that will determine our future along with the ACC. I personally feel that Jim Philips will settle for nothing and more exposure which really just helps ESPN, however I do think there is a slight chance ESPN works to keep FSU and Clemson in the conference and pays the TV value difference to the ACC for those schools to remain until 2036.