Tag: Pac-12 media deal

Report: Big Ten begins talks on possible expansion with Oregon as a focus

According to a new report, the Big Ten is potentially looking at expansion, with the Oregon Ducks a leading candidate

The expansion of the Big Ten and the demise of the Pac-12 just took another step.

According to a report from Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports, the presidents of Big Ten members have begun preliminary talks about expansion with four premier Pac-12 schools, including Oregon, as probable targets.

Along with the Ducks, the Big Ten is looking at Washington, Stanford and California, which would create a 20-member superconference.

A inability of Pac-12 commissioner George Klivokoff to negotiate a favorable media deal has opened the door for the Big Ten to scoop up more schools. USC and UCLA are already moving to the conference ahead of next season. But losing four more teams would basically end the Conference of Champions to make way for a Big Ten West division.

 

Report: George Kliavkoff presents primary streaming deal with Apple TV to Pac-12 presidents

Per a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff presented a primary streaming deal with Apple TV to Pac-12 presidents.

It has been over a year since George Kliavkoff and the Pac-12 conference started shopping around in hopes of finding a new media rights deal. On Tuesday, that deal was finally presented to the conference presidents.

Per a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Kliavkoff presented the Pac-12 presidents and athletic directors with a primary streaming deal with Apple TV on Tuesday. The deal would have incentivized tiers for league members if certain subscription numbers were met for Apple, giving the deal a certain amount of upside, Thamel reports.

[lawrence-related id=45662]

The potential deal was presented to conference presidents and chancellors, as well as athletic directors. The goal for the deal was to keep the remaining nine teams together — down from 12 after USC, UCLA, and Colorado all left for new conferences — with the hopes that the revenue generated from the deal would be enough to do so.

There is an expectation that the Pac-12 presidents will once again meet in the coming days to further discuss the deal, but no decisions have been made public at this time.

[lawrence-related id=45643]

Kilavkoff has been pursuing a new deal to replace the ones that expire in 2024 since Southern California and UCLA announced a little more than a year ago that they will join the Big Ten when the current contracts with ESPN and Fox run out. The negotiations got more difficult for the Pac-12 last year when the Big 12 jumped the line and agreed to an extension with both ESPN and Fox that starts in 2025.

Going forward, the remaining schools in the Pac-9 will vote on whether or not to agree to the media rights deal and go forward with it.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]