No Announcement of Pac-12 Media-Rights Deal at Media Day
Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff did not announce a media-rights agreement during Pac-12 Media Day on Friday, but suggested an agreement is imminent.
It is already long past the time that the conference was expected to announce an agreement on how its football and basketball games will be televised after the current deal expired in July 2024. The next media-right deal may determine whether the Pac-12 will continue to exist following the departure of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten next summer.
There have been reports that an agreement has been delayed by the fact that new bidders for those rights have emerged.
That report gained credence on Friday by Kliavkoff’s statement.
“What we’re seeing [is] the longer we wait for the media deal, the better our options get,” he said.
At one point he said that the reason he was not announcing a media deal during Friday's Pac-12 Media Day was because he wanted the focus to be on football. However, when he was asked whether that implied that a deal had been reached and he was just waiting to announce it, Kliavkoff said, “I think you’re reading too much into that.”
Kliavkoff said any expansion considerations would take place after a media-rights deal was in place and after existing Pac-12 schools had signed a Grant of Rights to confirm they would remain in the conference.
There have been reports that several Pac-12 schools – specifically Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State – have explored the possibility of joining the Big 12.
But Kliavkoff said he is not concerned about schools leaving the Pac-12.
"It's not a concern," he said. "Our schools are committed to each other and the Pac-12. We'll get our media rights deal done, we'll announce the deal. I think the realignment that's going on in college athletics will come to an end for this cycle."
However, Utah president Mark Harlan suggested that his school does not plan to leave the Pac-12 (or Pac-10) when he said Friday, "We’re proud members of this conference and look forward to its future success.”
Reports have suggested that San Diego State and SMU are schools the Pac-12 might consider adding, although San Diego State officials said recently it has not been invited to join any conference and has opted to stay in the Mountain West for now.
Cover photo of George Kliavkoff by Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports
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