The Pac-12 has already tried to be the visionary conference, the league which did things differently and tried to carve out a different slice of the media universe.
Pac-12 Network was supposed to be revolutionary. We say “supposed to” because it never actually did change the game the way the Pac-12 hoped it would. Yet, at the very start, the idea attached to Pac-12 Network was intriguing and ultimately worth a try. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” as the saying goes.
The Pac-12 fully owned Pac-12 Network, meaning that all of its revenues stayed in house. None were shared by ESPN or Fox or other media partners. This was the Pac-12’s baby, its pride and joy. Internal production, internal management, internal control, internally shared profits with no middlemen or outsiders. The concept seemed great.
It just wasn’t executed well.
In 2018, it was apparent that the original revenue-keeping concept of the Pac-12 Network was not going to work out. The Pac-12’s inability to get on DirecTV limited revenue and essentially undercut the larger plan. It wasn’t worth keeping 100 percent of a much smaller revenue pie, within a context marked by millions of Americans with DirecTV not being able to access Pac-12 Network. That was when the Pac-12 needed to hand the keys to ESPN, share revenue, but gain the visibility it had lacked for several years. Larry Scott said no, and now here we are, with USC and UCLA about to depart for the Big Ten and the Pac-12 wondering how to survive.
Now we have new developments which — if the Pac-12 wants to be creative with a new set of media rights deals — represent an obstacle to George Kliavkoff.
Let’s unpack this story for you: