The Pac-12 might be screwed after ESPN drops out of TV deal

The future of the Pac-12 seems to be about as stable as the deck of the Titanic. As USC and UCLA head for the Big Ten at the end of this season, the conference is looking murkier and murkier by the day (and Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark looking to add more schools in the wake of Oklahoma and Texas going to the SEC), and now is a more crucial time than ever for the Pac-12 to solidify things like TV deals and licensing.

Well... that also might not be happening, because ESPN might be backing out on the media rights to the conference. According to CBS’ Dennis Dodd, ESPN is out as a primary media rights holder for the conference, a major blow to any plans the Pac-12 had going into the future. Their current deal with Fox and ESPN expires in 2024, and if things continue the way they’re going now, they’ll be the only Power Five conference without a long-term media deal going into one of the biggest seasons in college sports.

Of course, ESPN could still get some of their later games while not being as interested in their Tier 1, highly contested matchups, but this leaves the conference in a real, real bad spot. Most major networks won’t want to air the Pac-12’s games, probably with the thought that when USC and UCLA leave for the Big Ten, Oregon and Washington will soon follow and the revenue coming in from the conference will dwindle even lower than the current revenues were this past season:

Yikes.

So what’s the plan for the Pac-12? If their deal expires going into 2024, who will their Tier 1 carrier be? According to Dodd and CBS Sports, the main bidder right now is ... NBCUniversal, specifically on USA Network.

YEESH.

Airing Washington-State vs. Arizona immediately following a Transformers marathon has gotta sting for the Pac-12, but at least they avoid following the Law and Order spot. That’s reserved for Monday Night Raw and NXT, brother.

The clock is ticking for the Pac-12 to get a new TV deal, because that holds the cards for any potential expansion that the conference wants to do. According to The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach, the conference plans on finalizing this before expanding to fill the void of USC and UCLA, but they can’t waste time here. As said earlier, the Big 12 is actively looking for members, but the Pac-12 is confident they can survive the next wave of expansion in the short term.

That, we have yet to see.