Report: ESPN, Fox, CBS open to media deal with Pac-12

The reimagined Pac-12 is drawing interest from some of the top television networks

A view of the Pac-12 logo on the jersey of Oregon State Beavers punter Josh Green (37) | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Major television networks ESPN, Fox and CBS are still open to participating in a media rights package with the expanded Pac-12, according to a report from Front Office Sports.

It's unclear how much interest the conference is drawing from the networks, per FOS, though it's been known that the Pac-12 hopes to sign its media rights deal before moving forward with expansion. FOS reported that conversations among the parties have been "productive."

The Pac-12's rebuilding process was accelerated this past fall, when the league announced it would add five Mountain West schools — Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Utah State — as well as Gonzaga to join holdovers Washington State and Oregon State in 2026.

While the Bulldogs headline quite a cast of basketball programs, the conference still needs to add at least one more FBS school to maintain its status as an autonomous league, which includes eligibility for the College Football Playoff and the royalties that come with it. However, it appears the league's media rights deal will come first.

The Beavers and the Cougars were the last two schools standing in the Pac-12 after former commissioner George Kliavkoff didn't provide a media rights package that the league's members wanted to sign in 2023, which led to everyone else jumping ship to seek out opportunities in the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12.

Now under the guidance of commissioner Teresa Gould, the Pac-12 has been put in a position to survive the the unforgiving college athletics landscape that not so long ago had the league in tatters. The conference secured a massive multimillion-dollar war chest, along with other intellectual properties, in a lawsuit settlement against the departing schools. WSU and Oregon State's football programs competed against the Mountain West thanks to a one-year scheduling agreement between the leagues, while other sports found a temporary home as affiliate members in the West Coast Conference.

The Pac-12 had a one-year deal with Fox and the CW to broadcast home football games during the 2023-24 season. The league also created "Pac-12 Enterprises" to take the place of "Pac-12 Networks." According to a report from Sportico in December, the Pac-12 applied for seven applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the word marks “Pac-9,” “Pac-10,” “Pac-11,” “Pac-13” and “Pac-14.”

While the future seems bright for the Pac-12, it certainly won't come without its obstacles. The Pac-12 and Mountain West are in a heated litigation over a poaching fee clause that was included in their scheduling arrangement for football. Boise State, Colorado State and Utah State are suing the Mountain West to get out of their exit fees.

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