EDITOR’S NOTE: In the video above, ACC Network play-by-play commentator Wes Durham reflects on the platform’s fifth anniversary.
As ACC Network (ACCN) celebrates its five-year anniversary today (Aug. 22, 2024), Front Row caught up with Jeramy Michiaels, senior director, Programming & Acquisitions, to discuss the first five years and look ahead to what’s next.
What are you most proud of since moving into your current role in 2021?
What I am most proud of is the tireless work of so many people who have made ACCN such a huge success. The ACC has so many great stories to tell with its legendary teams and world-class student-athletes; our team does an amazing job of telling those stories. There is a real sense of pride across everyone at ESPN who works on ACCN that it has a family feel to it.
What are some of your favorite events ACCN has covered since launching in 2019?
My single favorite event was covering the Duke versus North Carolina semifinal in the Men’s Basketball Final Four in New Orleans in 2022. The fact that those two teams had incredibly never faced each other in the NCAA Tournament, and it ended up being Coach K’s [Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s] final game was such a historic event, and our network was there to cover it all. ACCN was simultaneously at the Men’s and Women’s Final Fours that year [Louisville’s women’s team qualified], and it was a great opportunity to show the ACC audience this network would be there to cover the biggest events for the ACC.
(Jacob Kupferman/ESPN Images)
What can fans look forward to when tuning into this year’s ACCN coverage of the college football season?
ACC Huddle has become a major vehicle for ACCN’s coverage of football. We are on campus every week at the site of the ACCN Primetime Football game. Our coverage is unlike anything else we do at ESPN in that we are on campus all day, building up to the prime game each week. With Taylor Tannebaum now hosting along with [fellow commentators] Eric Mac Lain, EJ Manuel, Eddie Royal and Mark Richt, we have really hit on a great way to showcase ACC football on ACCN. We also host ACC PM from campus each Friday before the game, so it is an all-in effort in our coverage of ACC Football.
What can fans of SMU, Cal, and Stanford – new additions to the ACC – look forward to throughout the calendar year with the “24/7” coverage ACCN provides?
ACC Football Road Trip has already visited all three campuses, as well as the welcome event ACCN hosted for the new members on July 1. Our lifestyle show 3-Day Weekend will also be on each campus in the next few weeks and months to showcase the three new cities in the ACC territory. With the conference spanning to the West Coast now, we will have some basketball tripleheaders and some incredible matchups in gymnastics, softball, baseball, soccer, and many other sports. This is an exciting year ahead for the ACC, and this network is poised to showcase every story in a first-class way.
Spencer T. Jackson produced the video
ACC Network Five Year Anniversary special premieres tonight at 6 p.m. ET. Hosted by Taylor Tannebaum and Mark Packer, the 60-minute special celebrates the conference’s accomplishments since ACCN launched in 2019. For more details, visit ESPN Press Room
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