New Canzano Info About Media Deal: "We WILL Beat the Big-12"

Posted June 11, 20232 yr

Administrator

I do not know how much of this has been already posted, but with my schedule--I could not post this combination of two of his newsletters until now, and part may have been behind a paywall. Nonetheless, it might be new to some people... (References to "Friday" below is a week ago Friday)

From John Canzano:

I think the presidents and chancellors in the Pac-12 got a peek at the media rights figures months ago. I reported in October and March that members of the Pac-12 CEO Group were confident the conference was going to be in range — or beat — the Big 12’s annual media-rights distribution of $31.6 million, per school.

One source in the room later called it: “a lay-up.” I’m not sure how anyone could confidently say that if they weren’t seeing numbers.

Q: Any chance the Pac-12 Media deal surprises everyone and beats the recent Big-12 deal by $2 million to $3 million per school? That would be nifty after all the rumor-mongering. — @davidnevue

A: I was told in March by a well-placed source that the conference was confident it would be in range of — or eclipse — the Big 12’s annual distribution of $31.6 million per school. This week, I circled back and got a quote from a second Pac-12 source who told me “we will beat the Big 12 number.”

Clobbering that figure would be great for the Pac-12, but only because it means more money for the schools. The main focus is to avoid ending up with a media-rights number that is significantly lower than the Big 12’s. Keep in mind, it’s game-changing money that drives the movement in expansion and realignment. Even without the Los Angeles presence, the Pac-12 has better schools and better TV markets. The schools themselves know that.

In 2022, the Pac-12 generated $385 million in media rights money or $32.1 million per school. “Fairly flat” puts the Pac-12 in front of the Big 12. The figure rings true with what I’ve been told to this point. Still, I reached out to a source with direct knowledge on Friday and asked again — is the Pac-12 confident it will beat that $31.6 million distribution?

The answer: “We will beat the Big 12 number.”

One member of the Pac-12 CEO Group reminded me on Friday there’s no urgency in their camp. I’m told that all 10 members agreed to stay unified and committed until they saw final media-rights numbers — no matter how long it took. That removes some of the urgency for the group of leaders, but leaves fans, media and SDSU hanging.

Ignore the Big-12 Propagandists...