The Pac-12 Conference will not be getting a new media rights deal anytime soon.
Commissioner George Kliavkoff said the Power 5 conference won’t secure a new rights pact before the end of 2022 as it is in “no rush” to complete a deal after starting negotiations in July.
The lack of urgency to land a new media rights deal comes as the Pac-12 handles a shakeup of its membership before its current deals with FOX and ESPN expire in 2024.
In June, USC and UCLA agreed to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten — a loss of two key members of a conference that has struggled to sustain success in revenue-generating football.
A decision on UCLA’s fate will be decided on Dec. 14
- The Pac-12 has ranked last in annual revenue distribution among Power 5 conferences.
- Its deals with FOX and ESPN have an average annual value of $250 million.
- Average viewership of Pac-12 games on FOX, ABC, and ESPN is up 18% year-over-year.
The Pac-12 is pursuing a new media rights deal with Amazon, sources tell Front Office Sports. A deal would add to Amazon’s growing sports portfolio, which includes the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football.”
Prime Addition
Pac-12 member Colorado is expected to garner more attention for the conference with the hiring of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders as its head football coach.
Sanders has signed a five-year, $29.5 million deal with the Buffaloes. The deal is $2 million more per year than Colorado has ever paid for a coach.
