In a startling move, the Pac-12 now wants to negotiate its media rights contract. Does it come from a position of strength?
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Pac-12 curator George Kliavkoff addressed the media before the University of Utah played with the Oregon Ducks for the 2021 Pac12 Football Championship at Allegiant Stadium of Las Vegas, December 3, 2021.
| July 5, 2022, 7:32 p.m.
| Updated: July 6, 2022 at 12:31 AM
If the abandonment of USC and UCLA in the Big Ten was the first act of Pac-12 realignment, then the second act began in earnest on Tuesday.
The conference briefed the rest of the college football world this morning, saying it would immediately go to the negotiating table for its 2024 media rights contract.
It’s not exactly the move you’d expect from a league that has just lost its biggest media market and the two biggest brands: USC football and UCLA basketball. It’s an even weirder move if you consider reports over the weekend that the Pac-12 could see more exits in the coming weeks.
But the startling moment of the Pac-12 announcement has led many to believe that there is a plan formulating behind the scenes that could keep the league intact. A high-level Utah source told The Salt Lake Tribune Tuesday that the league remains “united” for the time being and that Utah remains committed to the conference.
If the Pac-12 is now heading to the negotiating table, it believes it is coming from a position of strength. Which means conferences believe they can keep their remaining 10 members or expand.
A high-level Utah source tells @sltrib that a report over the weekend of the Utah, CU, UA and ASU meeting with today’s Big 12 is “blatantly false.”
In addition, Utah remains in strong alignment with the Pac-12 leadership, the league entities.
“Tethered together” is used to describe the suitauton
– Josh Newman (@Joshua_Newman) July 5, 2022
Last week, the predominant idea was that Oregon and Washington were next in line to leave the conference, either in the Big Ten or the Big 12. CBS Sports also reported that Utah, Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado were in discussions. deep to march to the Big 12.
A source in the Utah athletics department, however, said it was “blatantly false” that any of these schools were meeting with the Big 12. Colorado and Arizona State also issued statements in support of the Pac-12. and his decision to start. negotiations now.
That said, the problem with the conference remains that just keeping its members will not be enough.
After USC and UCLA left, projections of future revenue from a media rights agreement for the entire conference have been reduced by nearly $ 200 million. With USC and UCLA at Pac-12, studies predicted a new Pac-12 media rights deal would have been about $ 500 million. Now, a former FOX Sports executive estimated that a new deal would be worth about $ 300 million.
That means much less revenue for each individual member, not to mention playing in a league with reduced power and no obvious path to the college football playoffs.
The Pac-12 could add Mountain West teams, such as San Diego State and Boise State. But with these two schools in smaller media markets, the added value of a media rights agreement would not offset the loss of the two main schools.
The best option, at least up to this point, would probably be to merge the Pac-12 with the Big 12 or the ACC. John Canzano, a Pac-12 informant, reported that the Pac-12 is actively exploring what a “loose merger” of the Pac-12 and the ACC would look like.
The combination of the existing Pac-12 and ACC media markets could be lucrative for ESPN in a negotiation. The ACC has schools in Boston, Washington DC and Atlanta. The Pac-12 carries to Denver, Seattle and Salt Lake City.
But for that scenario, and most scenarios, the first step would be to keep existing members in the Pac-12. Oregon and Washington remain highly valued targets for expanding conferences like the Big 12 and even the Big Ten later.
Colorado, while issuing a statement in support of the Big 12, also has a board of regents meeting tonight to receive “legal advice” on how to navigate the Pac-12 situation.