ESPN, Fox, and CBS are all still open to participating in a media rights package with the expanded Pac-12, sources tell Front Office Sports.
The Pac-12 hopes to sign a deal before looking to further expand, FOS has previously confirmed. Discussions for a media rights package are currently ongoing and in an “exploratory phase,” one source said. It’s unclear how much interest each network has, but another source characterized conversations with prospective partners as “productive.”
The Pac-12 declined to comment, as did all three named networks.
The media rights deal is the next step in the league’s rebuild.
After former commissioner George Kliavkoff failed to provide a media rights extension package that schools wanted to sign in 2023, all but Oregon State and Washington State bolted for other conferences. But since then, the league has been working on a major resuscitation: Led by new commissioner Teresa Gould, the league has recalibrated its conference office structure and has settled a lawsuit against departing members that yielded a multimillion-dollar war chest and the retention of Pac-12 intellectual property and other assets.
It signed a one-year football scheduling partnership with the Mountain West, and an affiliate member deal with the West Coast Conference for several other sports. This past season, the league had a modest one-year media deal with Fox and The CW to air home football games during the 2023-24 season.
The league has also reworked “Pac-12 Networks,” creating an entity called “Pac-12 Enterprises” that produces league games for other networks to air, and rents out a state-of-the-art production facility to other local broadcasters.
In September, however, the Pac-12 made a blockbuster move: It announced it would add four Mountain West schools—Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, and San Diego State—in 2026. The league then lured Utah State, and later added Gonzaga.
While the moves guaranteed the Pac-12 would survive into the next era of college sports, they did create other issues. The Pac-12 and Mountain West are embroiled in litigation over a poaching fee clause embedded in the Pac-12/Mountain West scheduling partnership, and incoming members Boise State, Colorado State, and Utah State are suing the Mountain West to get out of paying exit fees.
In addition, the league still needs one more full FBS football-playing member to join before 2026 in order to maintain its FBS status. But the media rights deal will likely come first.
