Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff on Tuesday finally presented a TV deal proposal to the conference’s member schools.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the proposed deal was with Apple TV, which is a streaming service rather than linear TV.
Sources: The primary deal presented to Pac-12 executives/ADs today was an primarily Apple streaming deal. The deal would have incentivized tiers, which would give it strong upside *if* certain subscriptions numbers are met. w/@CFBHeather
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 1, 2023
The Pac-12 is attempting to keep the conference together amid the looming departures of UCLA and USC in 2024. Colorado has already left for its former conference, the Big 12. The Big 12 can promise schools around a $31 million per year payout.
What Pac-12 member schools need to weigh is whether leaving for the guaranteed money of the Big 12 would be the right play.
No financial figures have been reported regarding the Pac-12’s potential deal with Apple TV (which could be a sign the deal doesn’t look so good on the surface).
Thamel did add that the payouts for the Apple TV deal hinge upon how many subscriptions they are able to drive. There is a lot of upside — potentially more money than the Big 12 offers — depending on how the subscriptions go with Apple. But there is also a lot more risk.
No decisions on the deal or any schools pondering other options are expected immediately. Campus leaders are digesting the possibilities of a stream-centric future and the variance in potential income. The money piece is tricky because of the variables of subscriptions.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 1, 2023
In addition to the financial risks, there are also risks related to exposure that schools have to consider.
Being on Apple, which is a streaming-only service, would likely hurt the Pac-12’s national exposure. Not only would fans be unable to watch the team’s games while flipping around on Saturday on linear TV, but the Pac-12 might also receive much less national mention from networks like ESPN and FOX. This would damage the conference’s relevance at a time when the conference is already struggling in that regard.
The Big 12 added four new schools in 2023 and will add Colorado in 2024. The addition of Colorado will give them 13 schools as of 2024. They would like to add at least one more school, and Arizona could be the school to join. In addition to Arizona, there are rumors that Arizona State and Utah could work together with the Wildcats and exit the Pac-12 as a trio. Schools can leave the Pac-12 in 2024 without having to pay an exit fee. That’s a big reason why UCLA, USC and now Colorado are leaving then, which will have the conference down to nine members.
If the Arizona schools and Utah also leave, the Pac-12 would be down to six schools: Cal, Stanford, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State. The once-powerful conference has the appearance of being on life support
