The Pac-12 Conference won’t announce a new media rights deal this week after all.
News emerged on Tuesday that the conference’s plan to reveal its next media rights deal on Friday isn’t the plan. Yahoo! Sports writer Ross Dellenger reported the news on Twitter and added the negotiations may extend to next month.
“The Pac-12 will not announce a new TV deal this week, sources tell @YahooSports, likely extending into August the league’s year-long pursuit of a rights package. The conference holds its annual FB media day Friday in Las Vegas. No announcement expected,” Dellenger tweeted.
It’s a tough look for the conference, which has been plotting its next media deal for a year. But in that year, and some change, a lot has happened. Pac-12 flagbearers USC and UCLA plan to flee the coop and embark on the Big Ten after this season. While nothing has been confirmed, Oregon and Washington are two schools that have had their names floated around for consideration too. And that’s nothing to say of rumored exoduses elsewhere around the conference.
Stability is the name of the game. With its sunk TV network deal and even more delays, the Pac-12’s reputation will probably take another hit. Probably the worst possible time, they are considering that the conference’s football league might be pretty competitive this year. They arguably have the best quarterbacks in the nation. But despite that, at least expect more at their expense for now as they labor through a pivotal moment.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022