Leadoff: A starring role for Wes Durham on new ACC Network

Wes Durham (right) joins ESPN senior coordinating producer Amy Rosenfeld (left) and “Packer and Durham” co-host Mark Packer (center) for a media event at the ACC basketball tournament Friday.

Credit: Jacob Kupferman / ESPN Images

Credit: Jacob Kupferman / ESPN Images

Wes Durham (right) joins ESPN senior coordinating producer Amy Rosenfeld (left) and “Packer and Durham” co-host Mark Packer (center) for a media event at the ACC basketball tournament Friday.

Wes Durham, well-known in Atlanta for his broadcasts of Georgia Tech and Falcons games, will get a starring role on the new ACC Network that launches this year.

Durham will join Mark Packer as hosts of a live three-hour talk show, called “Packer and Durham,” from 7-10 a.m. weekdays on the network, it was announced Friday.

The ACC Network (ACCN), scheduled to launch nationally Aug. 22, will be owned and operated by ESPN in partnership with the conference.

The “Packer and Durham” show will originate from a studio in the basement of Packer’s Charlotte, N.C., home. It will be simulcast on SiriusXM satellite radio and, as described in an ACC Network news release, “will provide a full view of ACC action across all 15 institutions in the vein of Packer and Durham’s current (SiriusXM) program, ACC Central.”

Durham -- son of the late Woody Durham, long-time voice of the North Carolina Tar Heels – was the radio voice of Georgia Tech from 1995-2013 before moving to regional telecasts of ACC football, basketball and baseball games. He has been the radio play-by-play voice of the Falcons since 2004.

Packer -- son of former long-time college basketball broadcaster Billy Packer --  hosted a popular sports radio show in Charlotte from 1997-2010 before moving to SiriusXM and ESPNU Radio.

“Few people are as entrenched in the ACC sports scene as Mark and Wes,” said Amy Rosenfeld, ESPN senior coordinating producer and ACCN head of production.  “Their decades of ACC market experience and their obvious chemistry and commitment to informing and entertaining listeners made this an easy decision. We’ll only seek to amplify the great work they are already doing.”

Durham also will call play-by-play on football and basketball games on the ACC Network.

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