ESPN may decide the fate of the Pac-12
After the departure of USC and UCLA from the Pac-12, the conference and the rest of the college football have gone into a frenzy trying to predict what will happen next.
There have been murmurs of schools getting picked off by the Big 12 and the Big Ten, but recently there has been confidence that the conference's remaining 10 teams will stick together.
Insider, John Canzano sought out the opinion of the former president of Fox Sports Network Bob Thompson, and what he had to say was very interesting in regards to the future of the conference. Contrary to the belief that it may be the schools or conferences that will decide the fate of the Pac-12, there is a belief that it is actually ESPN.
ESPN is currently in the middle of an exclusive, 30-day negotiating window with the conference right now to see if there are any appealing offers. Here is what Thompson told Canzano about why the Pac-12 is so important to the worldwide leader in sports:
“ESPN needs the Pac-12 more than anybody and will likely pay more than anyone else. They like West Coast windows for football. They like basketball inventory and they might actually be able to make something out of the Pac-12 Networks. They also need content for ESPN+.”
Thompson also expressed his belief that in order for the conference to survive, that there must be an agreement with the conference during this negotiating window that ensures the 10 remaining universities will receive a serviceable annual payout in the future. However, Thompson also explained that if the deal offered isn't as good as some members of the conference hoped, that we might see more departures from the conference. Something that Thompson believes might not upset ESPN all to much saying:
ESPN may decide to make a shrewd offer to the Pac-12, knowing that it if it’s rejected, the conference is likely to fall apart and have a handful of members end up with the Big 12.
Canzano also went on to explain how unlikely it is for another conference to swoop up a Pac-12 team at the moment saying:
Fox has the Big Ten Conference and appears content with that partnership. Insiders don’t view them as a likely bidder for the Pac-12 right now. Not unless there’s some kind of merger with the Big 12 or other shape-shifting change. So that leaves ESPN holding the biggest vote when it comes to the fate of the Pac-12.
The college football world will just have to sit and wait to see the results of the negations before chaos really ensues.
