CBS extends broadcast deal with Pac-12 conference
CBS extends broadcast deal with Pac-12 conference
No Pac-12 football games have even aired on CBS yet, but the two sides are committing to each other in the long term anyway.
The official relationship between the Pac-12 and CBS is growing closer — and it hasn’t really even begun yet! Thanks to a deal announced in April, CBS will become a Pac-12 football broadcast partner for the first time in 2025. However, the network is apparently already pleased enough with its partnership with the conference to jump into a wider commitment. On Monday, CBS announced that it was extending its deal with the Pac-12 through the beginning of the next decade.
Key Details:
- So happy together: CBS will be the “primary long-term media partner” of the Pac-12 through 2031.
- Even more inventory: Pac-12 football and basketball games will head to CBS in the deal.
- Lots of viewing options: Games will appear on CBS, CBS Sports Network, and Paramount+.
CBS and the Pac-12 have extended their partnership through the end of the 2030-31 season. The deal is the first long-term agreement for the new Pac-12, which will expand beyond two teams after the conclusion of the 2025-26 season. The conference is currently in business with CBS, The CW, and ESPN to televise its 2025 home football games.
The new deal will see CBS serve as the “primary long-term media partner” for Pac-12 men’s basketball and football games. The press release announcing the deal between CBS and the Pac-12 says that other partners will be announced at a later date, so it appears CBS will not be the sole home of Pac-12 athletics even when the deal extension takes effect.
CBS platforms will get a good chunk of premium Pac-12 events, including the annual football championship game, men’s basketball tournament title game, at least three regular-season football and men’s basketball games on CBS and Paramount+. Games from both sports will also stream on Paramount+ and air on CBS Sports Network throughout the year.
“Our goal with this process was to find transformational partnerships for the new Pac-12, and throughout our discussions and time together it became more and more clear that a partnership with CBS Sports would be just that,” Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould said. “I am thankful to the team at CBS Sports for seeing our vision and investing in our shared future as we build, launch and realize a new Pac-12 together.”
Indeed, Gould has been saying for months that she wanted to find a media partner that the conference could team up with for the long term. Although CBS won’t be the broadcaster of every Pac-12 event starting in 2026, it appears Gould has accomplished her goal of finding a partner that was willing to commit to the conference past just this year.
“As the new Pac-12’s primary media partner, CBS Sports’ top-tier coverage will showcase the best of the conference’s football and men’s basketball games annually across our platforms, including the championship game for both sports,” CBS Sports EVP Dan Weinberg said. “Extending this partnership strengthens our multiplatform college football and basketball schedule and, at a pivotal moment for the new Pac-12, allows us to collaborate, grow the conference and expand its reach.”
The Pac-12 will consist of only the Oregon State Beavers and Washington State Cougars this year, but will grow to at least eight teams in 2026. That will give it a much stronger hand in future negotiations, but CBS has gotten ahead of that curve by signing on with the conference until the end of the 2030-31 season.
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