The Alternative Commentary Collective (The ACC) led by Radio Hauraki's Jeremy Wells is about to be supercharged with brand new shows and a suite of podcasts.
Over five years, The ACC team has become a staple for sports fans renowned for their irreverent, unique and wildly popular coverage of all things sport. The ACC team is about launch The ACC Big Show, a brand-new Friday night live sports show on Radio Hauraki.
"Big Show is all about tapping into the anticipation and excitement that so many Kiwis experience ahead of a big weekend of top-flight sporting fixtures. Given it's being hosted by The ACC team, you can be assured the match and score predictions will be wildly, wildly accurate," said Wells.
The ACC fans can also look forward to the return of the cult hit, Champagne Rugby, announced last week, with the team booked to provide off-the-wall coverage of the North v South game as well as the All Blacks' home series on iHeartRadio and Radio Hauraki. The North v South commentary is also available for the first time as the yellow button option on Sky Sport 1.
"Having The ACC in the game as a true multimedia sport entertainment offering is exciting given how much 'the game' is changing. Sport is such an intrinsic part of the Kiwi way of life, something that's been reinforced for all of us at The ACC during recent times when the lack of sport to call, chat about and take the mickey out of has been intolerable," said Wells.
The ACC will be back heading up TVNZ's coverage of the hugely popular Blackclash where former cricket stars take on former and current NZ rugby legends. The ACC team's also finalising content plans to get them up close to the rest of this summer's cricketing action.
"It seems we have an ever-expanding team of contributors joining the likes of Matt Heath, Ben Hurley, James McOnie, Jason Hoyte, Mike Minogue and Scotty Stevenson. We need to find things to keep them busy," said Wells.
The ACC will also roll out a first-class suite of sports entertainment podcasts. These will be launched across all NZME platforms including iHeartRadio and will feature fan favourites as well as the new Staf Chat with Mark Stafford [formerly of the TAB] hosting interviews with NZ's biggest sports stars.
NZME chief revenue officer Paul Hancox says sports entertainment is a key focus for NZME.
"The ACC are a fan-favourite, and while the commentary is alternative, they are infinitely commercial. This team knock it out of the park when it comes to integrating clients with original content, delivering cut-through and delivery with the very best broadcasters in the business."
The ACC kicks off the season with live commentary of The North v South match on September 5th on theaccnz.co.nz, Radio Hauraki, iHeartRADIO and as the yellow button option on Sky Sport 1.
The ACC Roll Call: Jeremy Wells, Matt Heath, Ben Hurley, Jason Hoyte, Leigh Hart, Chris Key, James McOnie, Mike Lane, Scotty J Stevenson, Lee Baker, Mike Minogue, Paul Ford, Mark Stafford.
The ACC Podcast Collection on iHeartRADIO: The Agenda: Daily sports podcast, The BYC: Cricket Podcast, The ACC Champagne Rugby Podcast, The Noob Squad: Gaming Podcast with Astley Nathan and Storme Hitaua, Staf Chat: Feature interviews with Mark Stafford and some of NZ's biggest sports stars.