Back in April, free ad-supported streaming service VUit launched the ACCDN Confidential channel in partnership with Raycom Sports and the conference’s ACC Digital Network. That launch was timed to the NFL draft, including lots of player-specific highlight reels of ACC draft prospects and season-in-review packages for each team, and it saw great success, reaching viewers in 195 markets in May and serving as VUit’s most-watched channel that month. Around that launch, VUit parent company Syncbak said they’d expand ACCDN Confidential into basketball and NBA draft content later in the year, and they’re now doing that with a similar approach of player-specific highlight reels and season-in-review packages. Here’s more on that from a release:
This past season was a season like no other as teams played against the backdrop of a pandemic. But that adversity didn’t stop the amazing action in this highly competitive conference that saw its share of buzzer beaters, upsets, and jaw-dropping plays. Each team will get their own dedicated season highlight show taking fans from the season’s tip-off through to the surprising run to the conference championship by Georgia Tech. ACCDN Confidential will also take fans on the court with the Conference stars that will be among the most buzzed about leading up to the July 2021 NBA draft.
Best of 2020 highlight packages will be released for such Conference standouts as Duke’s Jalen Johnson, Matthew Hurt, and D.J. Steward; Florida State’s RaiQuan Gray; North Carolina’s Day’Ron Sharpe, Caleb Love, Kerwin Walton, Garrison Brooks, Armando Bacot; NC State’s DJ Funderburk; Georgia Tech’s Moses Wright, Jordan Usher and Michael Devoe; Notre Dame’s Juwan Durham; Syracuse’s Marek Dolezaj; Virginia’s Sam Hauser and Jay Huff; Miami’s Kameron McGusty and Chris Lykes; Boston College’s Steffon Mitchell; Clemson’s Aamir Simms and Pittsburgh’s Justin Champagnie.
Jack Perry, CEO and Founder of Syncbak said, “The ACCDN Confidential channel has really resonated with our audience. Sports fans from across the country who have made VUit a destination for finding local sports content have gravitated to it and really enjoyed the deeper dive it has given to date into the 2020 Football season. Now by adding basketball content we are further able to super serve the interest of the channel’s rapidly growing audience.”
Perry spoke to AA by e-mail ahead of this basketball launch, and said he wasn’t surprised by how ACCDN Confidential took off. He credits the timing of launching the channel right around the NFL draft.
“The timing was perfect. That is the beauty of going straight to OTT with timely content. Anyone interested in the ACC, or the draft, or specific players from the ACC, suddenly had a free, ad-supported channel to watch all they wanted.”
He said that ACCDN Confidential has boosted VUit’s overall profile and added new users who have then stuck around to watch their other content, including content from local broadcast networks.
“VUit is kind of like the reenvisioning of the network. ACCDN Confidential brought new users to the VUit platforms and our local broadcast partners had content to keep the viewers there. Viewers come back 18 or so times per month.”
And Perry said sports overall is key for VUit, and a big part of their strategy going forward.
“We are constantly adding new channels and stations to the platform. Our live local sports focus brings us viewers from all over the country to see content from other markets. We might have 10,000 live, local and exclusive events next year and that will bring a whole new base of viewers.”
ACCDN Confidential can be found on VUit’s website here, or through their connected-TV apps.
