NJDuck Moderator No. 1 Share Posted March 21, 2023 The college sports world is waiting to see what happens with the Pac-12 Conference as it tries to negotiate a new television contract. It’s the last of the Power 5 leagues to sign a deal beyond the middle of this decade and has been in a state of flux for the last several months. Brett Yormark the Big 12 Conference beat the Pac-12 to the open market to lock up their next television deal last fall and ever since then, the Pac-12 hasn’t had the market for its product that league leadership thought it would. After last week’s media tour from some Pac-12 presidents, another one spoke on Monday. University of Utah president Taylor Randall said on Salt Lake City radio that media rights talks “still got a ways to go”, however said that there is “solidarity” amongst the Pac-12 members. Randall said on The Bill Riley Show, “There’s been a lot of comments from the media about how this is taking a long time, but it’s really that we started a year earlier than expected. So on our end, as Presidents, we’ve been really patient with the negotiations because they’re happening on an advanced timeline and will be done ahead of the original schedule regardless of when it comes through. I think we’re in a good spot, and I like what I’m hearing out of the President’s office both in terms of compensation and in distribution. I think we’ve still got a ways to go, but I think we’ve got solidarity in the President’s room of the remaining schools in particular. I don’t talk to a President from one of the remaining schools who’s not confident in the deal that’s being worked on.” Randall becomes the latest in a list of Pac-12 presidents who have spoken to media in recent days. The transcript of the interview can be found here on Reddit. Utah President on Future Pac-12 Media Deal: 'Still Got a Ways To Go' WWW.HEARTLANDCOLLEGESPORTS.COM The college sports world is waiting to see what happens with the Pac-12 Conference as it tries to negotiate a new television contract. It's the last of the Power 5 leagues to sign a deal... I added the following articles here as well since it's on the Media Deal: Report: Pac-12 TV Deal Could Change Depending on Apple’s Timeline “For the Pac-12 to reach the $300 million per year mark to basically match the deal the Big 12 received from ESPN and Fox Sports, the most likely platform to pay that at this point would be Apple, as we reported last month,” Andrew Marchand writes. “To be clear, we aren’t saying that is happening, but Apple is the company that could potentially reach that number, and adding Pac-12 rights does fit what Apple seemingly is trying to do in sports. But it figures to be an all-Apple deal.“ The problem is, Apple isn’t in a hurry to get anything done and the Pac-12 has been saying that something is coming down the pike by the end of the month. When Apple doesn’t jump, because it doesn’t for anyone, what is Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff going to try and sell to his member schools’ presidents? Report: Pac-12 TV Deal Could Change Depending on Apple's Timeline WWW.HEARTLANDCOLLEGESPORTS.COM We are just 11 days from turning the calendar over to April and the Pac-12 still hasn't locked in a television deal for the future. The most suitable buyer for the Pac-12 product, Apple, hasn't been in... Will Amazon Or Apple TV + Offer The Pac-12 Deal They Can't Say No To? If we are to believe what we read in trade publications the Pac-12 new media deal is in the works with ESPN, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+ presently left at the table. What we have been able to read from the tea leaves is that the conversation about a possible deal is one that is heavy on streaming distribution over a more traditional model of liner TV. In a perfect world Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff would have CBS, ESPN, Fox, NBC and maybe even a streamer like Amazon or Apple taking part of the package. Kliavkoff, does not live in that world his options remain dealing with Apple, Amazon, and ESPN which means a strong possibility of more streaming and fewer games on traditional outlets. Will Amazon Or Apple TV + Offer The Pac-12 Deal They Can't Say No To? WWW.FORBES.COM In a perfect world Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff would have CBS, ESPN, Fox, NBC and maybe even a streamer like Amazon or Apple taking part of the package. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus No. 2 Share Posted March 21, 2023 (edited) My prediction: The PAC survives. With or without Oregon and Washington. With or without Stanford and Cal. With or without the 4 corner schools. Even if teams eventually leave, they will be replaced by Group of 5 schools. The PAC name will live on in some capacity even in a doomsday scenario. The media deal will reflect the horrible decisions and mismanagement that has plagued the PAC for the past 15 years. Even if the PAC deal is comparable to the Big 12 or ACC deals (doubtful at this point), the PAC will have to sacrifice visibility in some capacity. The Big 12 and ACC did not have to sacrifice visibility in their deals, but the PAC will. Edited March 21, 2023 by Rufus Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 3 Share Posted March 21, 2023 On 3/21/2023 at 11:31 AM, Rufus said: The Big 12 and ACC did not have to sacrifice visibility in their deals, but the PAC will. With our starting times--the majority of America did not have visibility of our games anyway. So whether they are streamed, or starting at 7:30 PM Pacific--we are not/were not visible to most. Our deal may not be what we want, but we will make the best of it. 1 2 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
2002duck No. 4 Share Posted March 21, 2023 What time is/was that PAC-12 meeting today? I've been waiting for news all morning! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus No. 5 Share Posted March 22, 2023 We will find out about visibility and ratings soon enough. Once USC and UCLA are in the B1G, we will know how more coverage each receives and can compare ratings of their games in the B1G vs. the PAC. This will give us an idea for what Oregon could expect if in the B1G. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 6 Share Posted March 22, 2023 On 3/21/2023 at 2:31 PM, Rufus said: My prediction: The PAC survives. With or without Oregon and Washington. With or without Stanford and Cal. With or without the 4 corner schools. Even if teams eventually leave, they will be replaced by Group of 5 schools. The PAC name will live on in some capacity even in a doomsday scenario. The media deal will reflect the horrible decisions and mismanagement that has plagued the PAC for the past 15 years. Even if the PAC deal is comparable to the Big 12 or ACC deals (doubtful at this point), the PAC will have to sacrifice visibility in some capacity. The Big 12 and ACC did not have to sacrifice visibility in their deals, but the PAC will. Rufus, but in the above scenario would the Pac-Whatever be considered a Power 5 conference? I do not think so as this hypothetical conference would be on par with the G5 AAC. Let's not forget that in 2022/23 AAC Champion Tulane defeated USC in the Cotton Bowl game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 7 Share Posted March 22, 2023 On 3/21/2023 at 2:52 PM, Charles Fischer said: With our starting times--the majority of America did not have visibility of our games anyway. So whether they are streamed, or starting at 7:30 PM Pacific--we are not/were not visible to most. Our deal may not be what we want, but we will make the best of it. As a guy living on the Right Coast, I give a hearty 'AMEN' to Charles' comment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus No. 8 Share Posted March 22, 2023 On 3/22/2023 at 1:14 PM, Jon Joseph said: Rufus, but in the above scenario would the Pac-Whatever be considered a Power 5 conference? I do not think so as this hypothetical conference would be on par with the G5 AAC. Let's not forget that in 2022/23 AAC Champion Tulane defeated USC in the Cotton Bowl game. Exactly. There is no more Power 5. There is a Power 2, a Middle 3 and a Group of 5. Top brands in the Middle 3 will need to hope the B1G or SEC are interested in them. Otherwise, their peers will include the better performing Group of 5 teams who receive invites to either the PAC, Big 12 or ACC. The Group of 5 will replace those members with new members who join the FBS from the FCS. It’s not hard to imagine a world where the PAC includes SMU and San Diego State instead of USC and UCLA. But what if the PAC eventually includes Tulane and Rice instead of Oregon and Washington? Or Fresno State and Colorado State instead of Stanford and Cal? These scenarios aren’t as far fetched as they were 9 months ago. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDuck Author Moderator No. 9 Share Posted March 22, 2023 Andrew Marchand on Pac-12 Media Rights Negotiations: ‘It’s a Dicey Situation’ 'All though it is coming from Marchand, Interesting that Heartland, which covers BIG 12 Sports, is all over this.' The Pac-12 has been in ongoing media rights negotiations since last summer, and time is starting to run out for the conference to get something done. Pac-12 schools currently receive $21 million annually from their deal with Fox and ESPN, which expires on July 1, 2024. That means, the conference is just over a year out from having no representation for its televised events, which sounds like a long time, but in the media rights world, the clock is nearing 11:00 p.m. There have long been reports that the Pac-12 was set to have a substantial meeting on Tuesday, March 21, but that meeting was rescheduled to Wednesday, March 22 for undisclosed reasons. Perhaps a deal is close for the conference and George Kliavkoff needed a few more hours to finalize the terms? Or maybe, and perhaps more likely, there’s just not much on the table right now that is going to excite Pac-12 school presidents and CEOs. In a recent episode of The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast, Andrew Marchand spoke about the situation that the Pac-12 finds itself in with monumental meetings coming in the next few weeks. Andrew Marchand on Pac-12 Media Rights Negotiations: 'It's a Dicey Situation' WWW.HEARTLANDCOLLEGESPORTS.COM The Pac-12 has been in ongoing media rights negotiations since last summer, and time is starting to run out for the conference to get something done. Pac-12 schools currently receive $21... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 10 Share Posted March 22, 2023 On 3/22/2023 at 5:33 PM, NJDuck said: Andrew Marchand on Pac-12 Media Rights Negotiations: ‘It’s a Dicey Situation’ The Pac-12 has been in ongoing media rights negotiations since last summer, and time is starting to run out for the conference to get something done. Pac-12 schools currently receive $21 million annually from their deal with Fox and ESPN, which expires on July 1, 2024. That means, the conference is just over a year out from having no representation for its televised events, which sounds like a long time, but in the media rights world, the clock is nearing 11:00 p.m. There have long been reports that the Pac-12 was set to have a substantial meeting on Tuesday, March 21, but that meeting was rescheduled to Wednesday, March 22 for undisclosed reasons. Perhaps a deal is close for the conference and George Kliavkoff needed a few more hours to finalize the terms? Or maybe, and perhaps more likely, there’s just not much on the table right now that is going to excite Pac-12 school presidents and CEOs. In a recent episode of The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast, Andrew Marchand spoke about the situation that the Pac-12 finds itself in with monumental meetings coming in the next few weeks. Andrew Marchand on Pac-12 Media Rights Negotiations: 'It's a Dicey Situation' WWW.HEARTLANDCOLLEGESPORTS.COM The Pac-12 has been in ongoing media rights negotiations since last summer, and time is starting to run out for the conference to get something done. Pac-12 schools currently receive $21... Thanks for the post. Marchand is supposedly media connected but who, what, and where is his source for this take? How is time running out? All other conferences have their media deals in place. The only 'pressure' on the Pac-10 is coming from unsourced reporting by those needing off-season material. ESPN is going to bring what it will bring; it will not bid against itself. Why or how Marchand thinks ESPN will not be part of the media deal is beyond me. ESPN needs inventory for the 10:30 kickoffs eastern time. FOX is not going to give ESPN any part of LA and the B1G. The B12 has 1 team in the Rocky Mtn time zone and that's it. For Apple and Amazon streaming college football and basketball is brand new to these companies. Thus, GK is negotiating a groundbreaking deal. The only straight-up reporting I have seen regarding the new media deal comes from Wilner and Canzano. This is more of today's unsourced, rumor-mongering, and IMO, irresponsible reporting. Right in line with today's unsocial media. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennsylvania Duck Moderator No. 11 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Pac-12 Meeting: So, What Happened? The Pac-12 finally held the meeting that was said to be vitally important to the future of the conference on Wednesday. Commissioner George Kliavkoff was expected to present a deal to school executives that would allow the league to move forward with a new media rights deal. However, the reports of the meeting have been ho-hum, at best. So, what happened (reportedly)? Pac-12 Meeting: So, What Happened? WWW.HEARTLANDCOLLEGESPORTS.COM The Pac-12 finally held the meeting that was said to be vitally important to the future of the conference on Wednesday... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Fan 76 No. 12 Share Posted March 23, 2023 (edited) On 3/21/2023 at 12:26 PM, 2002duck said: What time is/was that PAC-12 meeting today? I've been waiting for news all morning! Well it happened but no announcements were forthcoming. So there are two major points to consider here. Point one is that the PAC has kept leaks to a minimum for the whole process so "leaks" reported on by the media should be looked at with suspicion. Point two is that they didn't announce anything from the meeting so the only real takeaway is a deal has obviously yet to be reached. I think this is a situation where we just don't know enough to give much credence to any of the competing narratives (literally dozens). We're pretty sure that the PAC came in at the start of negotiations (last year) with an unreasonable number which allowed the Big-12 to get a deal done faster and they have been smashing the PR button on that point ever since. The challenge is once reality of a smaller number actually set in with GK his task shifted to convincing the universities that it's likely the best number achievable. When I crunched the numbers I saw the PAC's contract in the $25-30 Million range which is below the Big-12's media value and I think that's a true statement. The PAC's media value is actually lower than the Big-12's but there are a number of moving parts to consider. For instance the PAC "10" would likely match the Big-12's per school payout but would not have the massive media markets to build out in so overall less prospective value down the road. Expanding the PAC to San Diego and Dallas would reduce each school's payout but give the PAC somewhere to grow. The media companies are going to want looooooong contracts as they see CFB as an expanding market but with huge risks all over the place so they want safe, stable, numbers. Corporations don't like risks so they are naturally trying to hedge their bets and they know the PAC-12 network isn't a viable competitor but a net drag. I still think the best outcome is a smaller number ($25 Mil) with a shorter contract (4-5 yrs). The PAC should punt on this and focus the universities on getting serious with building their brands. Stanford and Cal might not need football but it does earn the school's money which they use for academics. Those schools need to take their football programs seriously. The Arizona schools are working with what they've got and WSU and OSU are actually doing pretty good all things considered. The PAC is a product and it's a pretty darn good one... they just need to convince football fans that PAC games are worth watching. The conference play in 2023 looks to be extremely exciting but we probably can't wait on this contract until December. Though technically the deal deadline is August of 2024... Edited March 23, 2023 by Duck Fan 76 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonDucks No. 13 Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/22/2023 at 6:50 PM, Duck Fan 76 said: The PAC should punt on this and focus the universities on getting serious with building their brands. Stanford and Cal might not need football but it does earn the school's money which they use for academics. Those schools need to take their football programs seriously. It's going to be hard to attract and retain a top coaching staff with a $30M+ deficit in annual TV revenues... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lownslowav8r No. 14 Share Posted March 23, 2023 (edited) I read earlier today that the president’s meeting did not occur. Looking to B1G news sources for factual reports seems a bit naive considering all the misinformation we are getting from sources close to the B1G (who is trying to destroy the PAC and make money picking up the pieces). Note: Wilner said that the meeting did occur with nothing signed yet. Edited March 23, 2023 by lownslowav8r Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Fan 76 No. 15 Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/22/2023 at 7:10 PM, OregonDucks said: It's going to be hard to attract and retain a top coaching staff with a $30M+ deficit in annual TV revenues... Actually, Alabama's entire football staff costs about $20 Million. Oregon could easily pay that. Most of the schools that "need" the revenue is for facilities upgrades and Oregon is more than set there. NIL also doesn't come out of school revenues. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 16 Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/22/2023 at 9:50 PM, Duck Fan 76 said: Well it happened but no announcements were forthcoming. So there are two major points to consider here. Point one is that the PAC has kept leaks to a minimum for the whole process so "leaks" reported on by the media should be looked at with suspicion. Point two is that they didn't announce anything from the meeting so the only real takeaway is a deal has obviously yet to be reached. I think this is a situation where we just don't know enough to give much credence to any of the competing narratives (literally dozens). We're pretty sure that the PAC came in at the start of negotiations (last year) with an unreasonable number which allowed the Big-12 to get a deal done faster and they have been smashing the PR button on that point ever since. The challenge is once reality of a smaller number actually set in with GK his task shifted to convincing the universities that it's likely the best number achievable. When I crunched the numbers I saw the PAC's contract in the $25-30 Million range which is below the Big-12's media value and I think that's a true statement. The PAC's media value is actually lower than the Big-12's but there are a number of moving parts to consider. For instance the PAC "10" would likely match the Big-12's per school payout but would not have the massive media markets to build out in so overall less prospective value down the road. Expanding the PAC to San Diego and Dallas would reduce each school's payout but give the PAC somewhere to grow. The media companies are going to want looooooong contracts as they see CFB as an expanding market but with huge risks all over the place so they want safe, stable, numbers. Corporations don't like risks so they are naturally trying to hedge their bets and they know the PAC-12 network isn't a viable competitor but a net drag. I still think the best outcome is a smaller number ($25 Mil) with a shorter contract (4-5 yrs). The PAC should punt on this and focus the universities on getting serious with building their brands. Stanford and Cal might not need football but it does earn the school's money which they use for academics. Those schools need to take their football programs seriously. The Arizona schools are working with what they've got and WSU and OSU are actually doing pretty good all things considered. The PAC is a product and it's a pretty darn good one... they just need to convince football fans that PAC games are worth watching. The conference play in 2023 looks to be extremely exciting but we probably can't wait on this contract until December. Though technically the deal deadline is August of 2024... Great take. I note that CAL has systemic issues and that Stanford has 'admission' issues that do not allow it to fully compete. Do the administrations of these 2 schools give a whip about big-time CFB and CBB? How do you build a brand when you give tickets away for free as Stanford did last season and you cannot sell out a reasonably small-sized stadium for a game vs Notre Dame? CU has stepped up. Utah has obviously made the investment to be competitive in CFB and has improved the OOC schedule with games vs SEC teams including this season's re-match with Florida. ASU is going through a complete roster revamp with Dilly in charge. Arizona? Has never won the conference in CFB and can it be competitive when a school like SC takes away 3 of your best players? Hats off to Oregon State and Washington State for doing more with less but these two schools finance-wise will always have a tough row to hoe. GK is struggling to do a deal without the LA market the USC bell cow brand. Without FOX competing against ESPN for broadcast rights. And having to negotiate a streaming deal with an entity that has not streamed college sports. You are so correct. The only deadline comes in August 2024. But there is a point where schools will get anxious and perhaps look for other alternatives such as the B12. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tandaian No. 17 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Stanford needs to stop whining about admission issues. They aren't the only P5 school with high entrance standards. Plus, I have seen the low end of admission GPA and ACT/SAT scores. They are on par or below a lot of other Pac 12 schools. Stanford has willfully chosen not to take Men's basketball and football seriously. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonDucks No. 18 Share Posted March 23, 2023 On 3/23/2023 at 8:11 AM, Duck Fan 76 said: Actually, Alabama's entire football staff costs about $20 Million. Oregon could easily pay that. Most of the schools that "need" the revenue is for facilities upgrades and Oregon is more than set there. NIL also doesn't come out of school revenues. Yes, but with a large infusion of cash, do you think it’ll stay that way? Northwestern, Indiana, Purdue, Minnesota, Iowa, Rutgers, Maryland, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, et al are all going to be making $30M+ per year in TV revenues than PAC, Big XII and ACC programs. If they want to spend some of the additional revenue to hire and retain top coaching staffs, it’s going to be difficult to match. What if any of those aforementioned programs offered Dan Lanning $10M per year plus $1-2M for each of his coordinators. Would Oregon match? The top programs (e.g., Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan) might even be able to match or beat NFL salaries without batting an eye. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
