Where you can find the ACC Network

Last week we gave a breakdown on where things stood with the ACC Network a day before its launch, and told you what to look for from the UNC perspective. Tonight, football action kicks off with defending national champion Clemson hosting Georgia Tech.

For a lot of folks, tonight will be the first thought they’ve given to the ACC Network. So, if you wanted to know how to watch it on your provider, we have each carrier summed up for you. We’ll start with who is showing it, then go through the holdouts and the latest on their status.

Spectrum

For the majority of viewers in the Triangle and Charlotte, you will be able to watch the game tonight thanks to the agreement that Spectrum reached with Disney. Based on available information, it should be viewable on channel 388 in the Triangle. Click here to put in your address and find it where you live.

There is a catch, however. Last week, several Spectrum customers tried to view the channel and weren’t able to, as outlined by Adam Lucas on the Carolina Insiders podcast. The short explanation: if you were once a Time Warner customer and never actually spoke with Spectrum about selecting a Spectrum package, then you are a “legacy” customer and won’t get it. You’ll need to call Spectrum and change your channel package. I would suggest doing that ASAP to avoid the rush that’ll happen at kick off.

Cox (Updated 9/4 6:30 PM)

The other major provider in the ACC footprint and third biggest cable provider came to an agreement on Wednesday, September 4th. This is huge news as Cox was the biggest cable provider that hadn’t agreed to carry the network except for Comcast, and serves a lot of communities in the ACC footprint, specifically in Virginia and Florida.

If you’re a Cox customer, there should be info soon about what package the network will be on. Follow up with them to make sure it’s working in time for Saturday night.

AT&T (Direct TV, U-Verse, Direct TV/AT&T Now)-Updated 9/25

Direct was one of the first to agree to carry the ACC Network, and have it on channel 612. Again, there’s a catch, as it depends on your market and channel package. Sufficed to say, if it is saying that you aren’t authorized for the channel, call Direct TV. They may just need to make a simple adjustment or you may need to add a package in order to see it. Folks in the ACC footprint who have the Sports package should be getting it, but technology being what it is, sometimes a call is needed.

What was odd about Direct TV, though, was that they were not allowed to provide streaming access to the ESPN app for their customers, nor did the carriage extent to AT&T’s other properties: U-Verse and their streamers. That has changed with a new carriage agreement, as Awful Announcing reported today:

So, if you’ve been gritting your teeth while holding onto AT&T in the Triangle, you will now get access to the Network. It’s appearing on lineups, but you may need to call AT&T to modify your package to get it.

Verizon FiOS

Check out channel 829 for the ACC Network. As with the other carriers, if it isn’t coming in, give them a call to see if you need a new package in order to watch.

Google Fiber

Go to 221 if you have TV through Google Fiber to watch the ACC Network.

Independent Cable

If your cable is through a small company or provided by the city, check with them directly. The trade group that represents these providers agreed to accept the channel, but left it up to each company to opt in.

Dish Network/Sling (Updated 10 PM 8/29)

As these things can happen, last second negotiations did come through for Dish customers. RL Bynum was first to point it out locally, and right in time for kickoff, Dish network announced they will now carry it on channel 402. Details in the tweet on what you need to get it:

As far as Dish’s streaming provider, Sling, they have also come to an agreement with the ACCN:

What that means is that to stream it on Sling, you need their $25/month Orange pack plus their $10/Month Sports Extra pack, for a total of $35/month. If all you are looking for is a streaming provider to bring you all the ESPN channels (ESPNU comes on the Extra) then this appears to be your least expensive option. It’s also another leverage point you have if you are a Comcast or AT&T customer to convince them to carry the network.

Hulu TV/You Tube TV/PS Vue TV

These are the streaming providers that have all agreed to carry the ACCN. Most will let you stream with a free trial period. Some may require a package beyond the basic in order to carry the ACCN so check with them individually.

Comcast (Updated 9/4 6:30 PM)

If you’ve gotten this far down, you’ve probably realized that Comcast has yet to come to an agreement to carry the ACC Network. The tweet that appeared here on Saturday appears to have been manufactured, as a response from the official customer care team carried the same response they’ve been trumpeting:

Honestly, the biggest chance for getting the Network on Comcast was this past weekend when Boston College and Virginia Tech, two Comcast markets, played their 35-28 game on Saturday. Neither fan base were able to watch it in their home markets on their biggest cable provider, and while Twitter was flying fast and furious, the media giant didn’t budge. Their customer service about responding has been...something.

We’ll see if Cox agreeing to terms forces Comcast to come down from whatever their demands were, as another strong Comcast market, Miami, plays against Carolina this Saturday. This Comcast customer would really like that.

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Things can and have changed before at the last minute, and these companies are likely looking to see how big of a tidal wave they’ll have when the first games kick off and customers who aren’t on social media realize they are locked out of games. There’s enough blame to go around as to why everyone can’t watch, but fans are ultimately caught in the middle. All we can do now is vote with our voices and then with our credit cards if providers won’t jump on board.

We’ll update this as needed if anyone changes before kickoff.