The ACC last month officially announced their Digital Network, or as they describe it, "A fully programmed digital network designed, produced, and distributed exclusively for audiences watching on connected devices such as laptops and smartphones." (or as I describe it "An amazing future.") The content will be free to users, supported of course by advertising and sponsorships. Read about it here, if you want.
So the question that results is simply, what does this mean? And, more importantly, what does it signal for the rest of the NCAA Landscape? Let's start by hitting up the ACC Digital Network, here. (Side note, I was surprised that the URL was "video.theacc.com", as I think much bigger when I think "digital", but I digress)...
When you hit the ACC Digital Network, you will find that it is, in fact, a home of video content. The content is sortable by sports (Basketball is shown below) and by Highlights, which you can access here (also shown below)...
The content is of solid quality, and is easily sharable via the Facebook Like, Tweet, and +1 Buttons on the site. Click on Tweet and you get this box to open. I like the social ease of sharing, but wish this offered a shortened URL and some personality!
After seeing this, I decided to check out the ACC Digital Network on Twitter, here, and below.
I was pretty excited to see there was a Digital Network Twitter Account, but to be honest it lacked the energy I was hoping to find. For example, you'll note in the post below that the ACCDN was planning on heading to ACC Men's Basketball Media Day throughout a day (which makes total sense as this is the place to be digital, right?) Yet, despite the fact that they were ready to post, nothing hit the stream. I'm not sure why, but it feels like a great chance to go digital was missed here!
Which brings us to the big question: What's the big advantage of having a Digital Network and how could this be better? The advantage is simply exposure, which will have an uplifting affect on the whole conference. I recently noticed that 5 ACC Men's Basketball games in December will be streamed live on the Network. No doubt the sports that don't always get big TV exposure will now have a place to get some love. With more people watching programming on the go, it only makes sense.
But how could these be better? It starts with the definition of digital. Digital is everything that's not real (or tangible). Thus, digital would include social media. With the target for the ACCDN being a connected consumer, it makes social media integration even more important. Right now social media is present, but the personalization, emotion, and access inside it are missing. For starters, I'd love to have the ACCDN not just give us a TV-style anchor but also give us some truly passionate social media ambassadors too!
And what's this mean for other leagues? One of if not the most prestigious basketball conference is going after more exposure through it's own network. That doesn't mean every league needs a network... but it does mean that it behooves us to find ways to make it easier for fans who love you to tune in to each game.
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