The Pac-12 and George Kliavkoff are surely trying to incorporate a streaming package into their larger platter of media rights agreements. It would be foolish to think this avenue hasn’t been pursued. It would be politically surprising if some kind of streaming or digital package doesn’t become part of the Pac-12’s football offerings.
However, we have to ask the question: Is the streaming piece of the pie — not the television side — the true holdup in the attempt to land the plane and secure a final price point which will satisfy Pac-12 member schools?
On the Last Word On Sports media podcast, Trojans Wire joined a few other media panelists to explore the brave new world of live streaming in sports broadcasting and the sports industry. We know that more streaming-only games are becoming a reality in 2023 and 2024. Peacock has an NFL playoff game and this September’s Washington-Michigan State football game.
Those games won’t be on NBC. They will only be available on Peacock, the NBC Universal streaming service.
Washington being on Peacock, not a regular TV channel, might be throwing a monkey wrench into the Pac-12’s plans.
George Kliavkoff and the Pac-12 are trying to emerge from the rubble of the Pac-12 Network, an entity which greatly limited the distribution and exposure of Pac-12 football to a larger national audience. Americans can’t get Pac-12 Network on a basic sports cable tier, and DirecTV customers have never had the ability to watch Pac-12 Network.
Given that deficit in visibility, is the Pac-12 struggling to figure out a streaming package in which viewers will have more access to the Pac-12’s product, but with a media partner forking over enough dollars to give the Pac-12 a satisfactory price point? Is it proving especially difficult for the Pac-12 to balance revenue (more exclusivity on streaming, hence less TV visibility) with mainstream exposure?
We don’t know the answer now, but we should get an answer in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.
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