Could Pac-12 football games air on The CW Network in the future?
On Monday morning, New York Post sports media columnist Andrew Marchand released his weekly newsletter, which included reporting on the Pac-12's media rights negotiations.
“ESPN & the Pac-12 are having no substantive talks at this time," he wrote. "ESPN passed on Big Ten, Sunday Ticket, Premier League, Champions League & MLS, so the idea it will be completely out on the Pac-12 is not in the least bit surprising. Things can always change & maybe the Pac-12 can figure out a creative way to get ESPN involved, but right now that seems very unlikely.”
With ESPN out of the picture, where will the conference turn?
Apple could potentially partner with the Pac-12 to air football games, but that would take the conference's marque games off of cable. ION Television is another rumored partner. So is the CW.
On Monday, cordcuttersnews.com's Kayla Wassell wrote a story about Nexstar Media Group's interest in buying college football rights and airing games on the CW Network, the channel that broadcasts LIV Golf.
"Despite a slew of controversies surrounding the acquisition [of LIV Golf] and low viewership, Nexstar said it is looking to add Power Five college conferences and motorsports groups to its broadcasting lineup, ideally this fall," Wassell's article reads.
The Pac-12 is currently the only Power Five conference negotiating its media rights.
Have talks gone so bad for the conference that the CW is a realistic partner? Optically, that obviously wouldn't look good.
The Pac-12 still has time to negotiate its next deal — so it's not time to panic quite yet. The conference's current deal expires at the end of the 2023-24 school year.
The clock is definitely ticking though.
REVENUE SHARE
Last week, the Pac-12 announced record distributions of $37 million per member university from the 2021-22 fiscal year, but that figure still lagged behind other Power Five conferences.
Here were the other average annual payouts, per USA Today Sports.
- Big Ten $58.8 million
- SEC $49.9 million
- Big 12 $42-$44.9 million
- ACC $37.9-$41.3 million
- Pac-12 $37 million
If the Pac-12's next TV deal continues to put its member schools at a disadvantage financially compared to other conferences, realignment buzz will only grow stronger and stronger.
