The Pacific-12 Conference announced its new media rights deal earlier this week, and oh, what a deal it turned out to be.
It’s the biggest in college sports history, trumping the Big Ten’s and even the almighty SEC’s. The deal is for a reported $3 billion over 12 years, or an average of $250 million per season. That far exceeds the $170 million annual figure many pundits pointed to as a benchmark before negotiations started heating up.
As is the case in any business transaction of this magnitude, there are widespread ramifications for all parties, too many to discuss in 600 words.
And while it’s pretty hard to ignore that $3 billion figure, the biggest impact of the new deal lies in the increased exposure it will provide the conference.
In essence, the league will go national. With co-partners ESPN and Fox Sports Media Group committed to broadcasting games on both coasts, at reasonable hours, the Pac-12 brand will be accessible to a new group of fans.
Under the old deal, showcase games were often televised only regionally, while comparably relevant SEC or Big-12 games had national audiences. On the rare occasion a Pac-10 game was televised on both coasts, it often started at 7 or 7:30 p.m. on the West Coast, too late for many viewers in other time zones.
In many ways, the new deal is the polar opposite.
The majority of games, if not all, will be available to fans across the country – whether they’re featured in prime time on the Fox/ABC network channels, one of the ESPN family of networks, or, on the soon-to-be-formed Pac-12 network.
And, if you don’t happen to have a TV, you can still access the games. The conference has packaged together all media rights to create a “TV everywhere” distribution model. The conference’s games should be available online, on mobile devices and tablets.
The Pac-12’s new media rights deal is truly a global endeavor.
It should be a better quality one, as well. Those dreadful Fox Sports Net and Versus football broadcasts with play-by-play commentators that confused Casey and Clay Matthews and bordered on unintelligible at times should be a thing of the past. With a much higher financial commitment and an agreement to air games on FX and the network FOX channel in addition to FSN, I’d imagine Fox Sports Media Group would increase its promotion and production in accordance with its financial investment.
Similarly, although ESPN certainly has its flaws, having the “World Wide Leader” as a primary media partner is invaluable. Their actual game production is top-notch and with a higher stake in the league, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see ESPN pay more attention to the Pac-12 in its studio shows.
Obviously, all of that’s wonderful news. In the most basic form, it will allow influential pundits and coaches (who have a say in BCS) who live on the East Coast and didn’t get the Fox Sports channels a chance to actually see the Pac-12 in action.
It could also be a long-term boon to fanbase size, especially in areas where pro sports reign supreme. That might not mean much to a school like Oregon, which already has a healthy and vibrant fan base, but it could be a huge help to the Bay Area schools and UCLA, which struggle for attention in huge media markets.
The impact on recruiting is equally large. If Chip Kelly is in Florida to recruit a prospect, he can assure that prospect’s family they will be able to watch every one of his games. That’s not something Kelly — or other Pac-12 coaches — used to be able to say. That might be an even bigger deal to the league’s basketball coaches, who had to deal with some of the worst TV exposure in the country.
So, all together now: Thanks, Larry Scott, for changing the landscape of the conference for the better. In due time, the Pac-12 will be a force to be reckoned with.
Drukarev: New Pac-12 TV deal great for conference
Daily Emerald
May 4, 2011
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