ESPN's involvement with the Pac-12 continues to be a mystery
All offseason long, the main storylines surrounding the Pac-12 have been what teams they will add to replace USC and UCLA, and of course their media rights.
The latter while it may not be as fun to speculate about, is by far more crucial to the future of the conference than expansion. Without a media rights deal that is viewed as adequate enough by the remaining 10 members, there is no Pac-12 conference expansion that could take place.
The Pac-12's media rights has gone as smooth as a drive on the backroads of any country town, as the conference has consistently been in the headlines for not having any semblance of a deal. It also doesn't help that the Big 12 has not only expanded, and reach a deal of their own, but also is consistently putting out statements expressing their desire to poach the four corner schools.
The Pac-12's media rights adventures have seen names like ESPN, ION, CW, Apple, and Amazon all thrown around frequently, but the expectation from those following it closely are that the conference will end up with a TV deal and partnership with a streaming site. Now for the nearly 12 months that these talks have been circling the main assumption is that ESPN would be the television partner for the Pac-12, and the streaming service would be determined later.
Regardless of whether it's Apple who has a deal with the MLS, or Amazon who partnered with the NFL this past season, ESPN has always been the constant in this media rights mess. That was until late Wednesday night when CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd reported that the World Wide Leader in Sports was out as the Pac-12's primary rights holder.
This late night report had many college football fans around the country again discussing the downfall of the Pac-12 Conference, which also of course leads to the realignment discourse we've been having the entire year. The report came as a breathtaking surprise, as there has been confidence the entire process that ESPN wouldn't want to lose Pac-12 After Dark, but Dodd was told they were out.
Flash forward to Thursday morning, and The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach reported that ESPN is in fact still in the mix.
Auerbach also reported that the two parties met as recently as Wednesday as well.
The confusion, as expected, is at an all time high as to what is truly going on with the conference. What we do know, is that all four of the corner schools have pledged allegiance to the conference, and most if not all of other other programs have as well.
The world as we have been for nearly a year, will have to wait and see what the Pac-12 is going to do.
