Escalating weary of Pac-12 realignment? Get cozy this could consider months
LOS ANGELES — The Pac-12’s month-long battle for survival could seep into the soccer period, and maybe deep into the year, as the forces of realignment ripple across the college landscape.
Survival, extinction, expansion, partnerships — all the things hinges on the outcome of media legal rights negotiations in the Pac-12 and the Large 10.
Commissioner George Kliavkoff supplied context Friday at the Pac-12’s yearly preseason media party at the Novo Theatre.
“To set expectations,” he claimed, “this method will accelerate after the Major Ten deals are concluded and will probably acquire months to entire.”
There are two causes for the extended timeline.
— The Pac-12 is a few weeks into an exclusive negotiating window with present companions ESPN and Fox that commenced in early July and is contracted for 30 times.
But both equally networks are also immersed in negotiations with the Big Ten that were prolonged by the June 30 additions of USC and UCLA and are now anticipated to conclude in August.
If inclined, the Pac-12 could concur to increase the special 30-day window for ESPN and Fox over and above the contractual conclusion-position in early August — a superior-faith present that would permit the networks to wrap up the Huge Ten offer just before focusing on the Pac-12.
The hold off could push the timeline for the Pac-12’s special window into September.
— But even then, the meeting would only take a stellar give from Fox or ESPN. In any other case, Kliavkoff will acquire the stock to the open marketplace and enable other networks the possibility to bid on Pac-12 rights.
“We already have major interest from opportunity partners, including each incumbents and new regular television and, most importantly, electronic media associates,” he explained.
The results of the Significant Ten’s negotiations could influence the desire for Pac-12 content material among networks that obtain fewer than their preferred slice of the previous.
For occasion, if ESPN obtains a minimal volume of Large 10 soccer, its fascination in the Pac-12 could improve.
(The reverse is also true — and would be a poor indication for the meeting.)
If real fascination in the Pac-12’s media rights exists outside of the two classic partners, the open-sector negotiations could previous various months.
Kliavkoff struck an optimistic tone Friday in his to start with general public responses given that the USC and UCLA news.
“With the benefit of high quality college or university sports activities legal rights continuing to rise, several fascinated media partners and confined opportunities, specifically in the west,” he stated, “we are self-confident in the lengthy-expression benefit of our legal rights.”
And there’s a person more layer to think about: The conference is checking out enlargement.
If it identifies faculties that in shape competitively and institutionally — and if their media valuation clears the ideal threshold — the conference could increase at least two members and perhaps four.
That could extend the complete approach properly into the slide.
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