Timing of the ACC TV deal

The ACC expanded for two reasons: stability and money. Short-term stability is ensured as the dominoes fell and all the logical dance partners moved spots. A looming 16 team SEC or 16 team Big Ten could happen, but not for at least five more years. The money related to a new TV deal is a little more complicated. According to the Sports Business Journal, the ACC is only likely to get an additional $1-2 millions for the new teams. Considering that the ACC expanded to trigger an opening in their TV deal, a small bump seems dissappointing. There are multiple factors in this, but timing is the biggest one. When the ACC signed its current deal, the SEC had the biggest TV contract. The ACC willingly took a smaller deal in exchange for a deeper partnership with ESPN. The ACC also forgoed the Big Ten's path of creating its own TV network. The only real alternative for the ACC was Fox. Fox provided a good deal but all things being equal ESPN made more sense from a financial and marketing ...