Pac-12 Is Adding 4 New Schools, but Will TV Networks Care?
The conference is currently focused on adding new member schools, but will have to pivot quickly to a media deal.
Improbably, the Pac-12 conference seems poised to rise from the ashes. The conference is currently down to just two member schools — the Oregon State Beavers and Washington State Cougars — but on Sept. 12, it announced that it had convinced four other schools to join. The Boise State Broncos, Colorado State Rams, Fresno State Bulldogs, and San Diego State Aztecs will all shift from the Mountain West to the Pac-12 starting in 2026, but the new conference is facing the same problem the old Pac-12 had: who will broadcast its games on TV?
Key Details:
- Industry sources don’t expect anyone to pay more than $45 million per season for the Pac-12 going forward.
- The Pac-12 still needs to attract two more schools before it’s recognized as an FBS conference.
- Apple TV+ was deep in talks to acquire Pac-12 rights in 2023, but the deal eventually fell apart.
CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd was able to speak to several industry sources about the prospects of the new Pac-12 getting a favorable deal as it seeks out new media partners. Colorado State athletic director John Weber acknowledged the challenges of finding a new TV ally, saying that he and his fellow schools were essentially “rebooting a conference.”
It wasn’t long ago that Pac-12 schools were angling for $20 million each as they discussed various deals with partners like Apple TV+. The conference entered into its last round of negotiations with its eye on sums even greater than that, but prospects quickly dried up and schools left one after the other as it became clear they wouldn’t get anything close to the numbers then-commissioner George Kliavkoff promised they could fetch in TV deals.
Now, industry sources tell Dodd they don’t expect the new Pac-12 to exceed the $45 million total the Mountain West gets from Fox and CBS in its next media deal. The conference’s brand isn’t worth anywhere close to what it was when schools like USC called it home, and in fact, it still needs to add two schools before it’s officially recognized as an FBS conference. That means the schools departing the Mountain West for their new home are gambling on the move as one more geared to deliver future as opposed to instant success.
“I don’t see them getting a better deal anywhere else,” said one prominent industry source familiar with media rights negotiations when asked whether the Pac-12 could get as much as the Mountain West.
Who Could Team With the Pac-12?
One upside of the Pac-12 not fetching anywhere near as much as it was formerly demanding from networks and streamers is that it could get more bids. Apple TV+ was outwardly the closest streamer to landing a Pac-12 deal before the conference fully dissolved in 2023 and could be first on the list for a solicitous phone call from conference executives.
Warner Bros. Discovery also has some cash to burn on sports rights, as it looks all but certain to lose its NBA package for TNT after 2024-25. That will save it around $1.5 billion per season, and it’s already sublicensing a package of College Football Playoff games from ESPN, as well as airing a small selection of lower-echelon Mountain West games.
Buying low on the Pac-12 now could pay big dividends in the future for whichever outlet lands the conference, depending on how well the integration of its new member schools goes. Someone will eventually take a chance on the new Pac-12, but who and for how much are questions that will only be answered with time.
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is a subscription video streaming service for $9.99 a month that includes high-quality original shows and movies including Best Picture winner “CODA,” popular sitcom “Ted Lasso,” and dramas like “The Morning Show” and “Severance.” Apple TV+ is also home to MLB baseball games on Friday nights and MLS Season Pass.