University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce spoke publicly on Saturday in the wake of her school’s move to the Big Ten Conference. She gave the public what it wanted: details on the inside process connected to the Pac-12’s failure to land a media rights deal.
“In the end, we did not have a deal which was viable in terms of securing our stability and our future. … It was not the deal we had been discussing just days before,” Cauce said.
Cauce also said she and the other Pac-12 schools received one deal, not multiple deals, which was a reference to an Apple TV deal being the only proposal advanced by George Kliavkoff.
Translated: There was a digital (streaming) deal but zero presence on linear TV, meaning ESPN, Turner (TBS/TNT), CW, CBS, NBC, ABC or other primary TV outlets.
Cauce also noted the presence of an opt-out clause after two years as a highly alarming aspect of the Apple proposal, something that did not guarantee stability or inspire confidence.
Reactions flowed in after Washington made its move to the Big Ten, but the big story attached to UW’s exit is just how limited and inadequate the Pac-12 media rights deal was.
Here’s the reaction to UW’s move, plus Cauce’s comments and some weekend reporting as you scroll down: