Bilas doesn't follow an ESPN-driven agenda. He's just an ACC guy, who thinks tobacco-road is the center of the basketball universe. That's his experience. But I doubt very much that he's consciously trying to put down the BE.
ESPN on the other hand obviously does have a stake in the success of the ACC. But I think they act far less nefarious than most of you suggest. I don't think it affects their "editorial content" at all. When an analyst breaks down the bubble teams, they're just as likely to talk about us or Providence as they are a team from any other conference.
The difference is in their marketing. They run promos for the games they have coming up that night or the next night. And, surprise, those games are ACC/Big10/Big12 games. They also select who they interview to coincide with the upcoming games on their network. Just like on a given Sunday in the fall Fox will interview Brees, while the CBS show interviews Peyton; ESPN does the same thing to promote their upcoming games. Do I think Fox is anti-AFC? no. I just think they know their network shows NFC games, so they build some hype for it.
ESPN sucks for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that they're are always 3 years behind the rest of the media in criticizing MLB, NCAA, NFL for things like steroids, concussions, or hypocrisy. But I don't think they are biased against the BE. Their analysts provide equal coverage when asked for an opinion. But they do run ads to promote their games, and choose interviewees based on the upcoming games.