Report: Apple, Pac-12 may reach deal for conference's college football rights
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Future Pac-12 football games may stream on Apple TV+, according to a report from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.
"Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff could present Apple as a possibility to his schools soon, according to sources," Marchand wrote. "Whether the universities would be interested in a potential all-streaming deal and whether the terms would end up being good enough to prevent schools from departing to other conferences has yet to be determined."
According to Marchand's reporting, if Apple and the Pac-12 reach a deal, it will be similarly structured to the agreement the company signed with MLS where Apple TV+ gets "the global rights to stream all the league’s games with an all-inclusive package."
Last week, Marchand discussed the Pac-12 potentially partnering with Apple on his podcast.
"Apple is a wild card, but the problem with Apple is you're still on a streamer and it's just not as well known," he said.
The current Pac-12 TV deal expires in 2024 and the conference has had difficulty trying to negotiate a new one with USC and UCLA leaving. The Pac-12 is less valuable without the two LA schools, which will mean its member schools will receive significantly less TV money than schools in the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 in the future.
Earlier this week, ESPN's Pete Thamel wrote: "It's safe to say the schools in the [SEC and Big Ten] are going to be making more than $30 million more than teams in the other leagues now and going forward. (The Big 12 is at least safely established in the upper-middle class after agreeing to a recent deal with ESPN and Fox.)"
Even if the Pac-12 agrees to a deal with Apple TV+, there's no guarantee the league survives with the Big 12 being interested in adding Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah and the Big Ten being interested in bringing in Oregon and Washington.
If the potential Apple TV+ deal doesn't satisfy those schools, there's a chance they jump ship.
Times are certainly tough for the Conference of Champions...
