Fox Bidding for Rights to the ACC

In an interesting bit of news, it appears that Fox Sports are in negotiations to bid for the rights to air ACC basketball and football games. This comes on the heels of several other major shake ups coming to the televised rights of college football beginning in 2010. If Fox is successful with their big, it would make them the exclusive provider of ACC sports. The goal of the deal is to allow the ACC to air in prime time and on a national scale.

Beginning in 2010 the SEC is effectively moving exclusively to ESPN since the Big 10 now has their own network. Another major shift in college football television rights comes as a result of the NBC Universal/Comcast merger that could see Notre Dame losing their deal with NBC. There is no doubt that gaining the rights to basketball and football would put Fox Sports at the forefront of college sports coverage.

For the ACC this is a huge deal that could vault the conference back into the national spotlight. Everyone knows the struggles of the ACC in football, but it is still the home to some of the best basketball in the country. Having national exposure and the ability to reach every home in the country could help revive the struggling football conference.