Pac 12 disaster?  Is realignment coming soon?
Channel: Winning Cures Everything
Date: 07/04/2023

Pete Thamel at ESPN, and Stewart Mandel & Max Olsen at the Athletic, all put out stories yesterday with the same piece of news: The Pac 12 media rights deal won't be done until later this spring or this summer.

Multiple Pac-12 presidents had recently said a deal was imminent. The latest source said those statements were "optimistic."

Now, the ESPN story says that the Pac 12 remains engaged with multiple media partners, but doesn't specify which networks.  The Athletic story says "the delay may be in part because of the emergence of a new potential partner.  Two sources indicated there have been recent discussions between the Pac-12 and The CW, a national over-the-air broadcast network better known for scripted shows like “Gossip Girl,” “Supernatural” and “Riverdale.” Since purchasing The CW Network last year, parent company Nexstar Media Group has expressed interest in procuring live sports rights, announcing in January a deal with LIV Golf."

If you want proof that this stuff came specifically from Pac 12 sources, look at the fact that both stories go into detail comparing the timing of a potential deal to the Big Ten's most recent deal.  Don't let em fool you.  This isn't the normal standard.

The situation is the same as we told you before: the NBA, UFC, NASCAR, etc rights are coming up.  Those properties are more valuable than the Pac 12.  On top of that, this country's economy is in a recession right now.  Disney is cutting 7000 jobs. FOX has what they want.  NBC just signed in with the Big Ten and has Notre Dame's rights coming up.  The only thing left is streaming, or a lesser known linear option - like the CW or ION TV.

The Pac 12 isn't worth as much to ESPN as it is to a station like the CW who is wanting in the sports media rights game.  Everybody gets the CW, the app is free, so everybody could get these games without ANY KIND OF SUBSCRIPTION.  That's the key - games on CBS, ABC, NBC and FOX all outdraw ESPN, FS1, etc because they're OTA (over the air) channels.  You can pick them up with just a TV antenna. 

So can something happen with the CW, or even ION sports, that could change the course of a potential Pac 12 disaster?  Absolutely.  

But... pushing this thing back has risks.

For example - Kevin Warren's last day with the Big Ten is April 17th.  Do the presidents decide to extend an invitation to Washington and Oregon once Warren is out of the way?

Another example of a potential risk is listed in the Athletic's story.  Sources said that Kliavkoff is not overly concerned about any of the 4 corner schools leaving just yet, but Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has recently met with multiple presidents of Pac 12 schools looking to explore their options, a person briefed on the meetings said. 

Jason Scheer, from Arizona's 247 site, tweeted yesterday that Yormark met with Colorado's president for 5 hours recently.  You don't meet for 5 hours with somebody if you're just "checking in." Remember - Colorado wants to maintain their academic integrity, but there's been a philosophical shift in Boulder in regards to football, and you don't bring in Deion Sanders just to hide him on a streaming service.

My guess is Yormark is going to continue to put pressure on these presidents that have been talking to reporters, who are likely irritated and impatient because Pac 12 leadership has given them bad information, which they then went and put their name behind publicly.

On top of that, the sources indicated there's a divide in the room between those that want to get a deal done now, and those that are willing to be patient if it means a better deal.  But what is a better deal?  Is it just more money?  Or is it more linear exposure?  What are the exact expectations for all 10 of the presidents?

Again - we still haven't heard how the Pac 12 is going to resolve the Comcast overpayments.  And there hasn't been anything new on the San Diego State or SMU front either... which, again, makes sense because you can't invite teams to a conference that may soon not exist, I suppose.

https://theathletic.com/4388808/2023/04/06/pac-12-media-deal-negotiations/
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/36095695/sources-pac-12-tv-deal-expected-later-spring-summer

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