Report: Pac-12 received last-minute TV rights bids from ESPN, CBS and FOX last week

As the Pac-12 fell victim to conference realignment this past week, new details have emerged on its failed efforts to secure a TV deal. According to Sports Business Journal, ESPN, CBS and FOX all made last-minute bids to the conference, but those offers were much lower than desired.

FOX reportedly offered the Pac-12 a bid for 13 football games that would pay $35-40 million per year. That deal was for the conference’s “B” package as ESPN and Amazon were expected to share the “A” package. However, Amazon never ended up putting forth an offer.

ESPN apparently offered the Pac-12 a “significant package” more than a year ago, but the university presidents rejected that TV deal. SBJ also reports that CBS and FOX were both willing to work out a deal with the conference a year ago.

When the Pac-12 rejected ESPN’s offer, the network turned to the Big 12 and agreed to a six-year extension on its TV deal worth $380 million per year. That ultimately turned out to be what caused the implosion of the Pac-12 as Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah all joined the Big 12 this past week.

When the Pac-12 tried to work out a new TV deal recently, it found that many networks were not willing to offer as much due to layoffs and shrinking subscriber numbers. That led commissioner George Kliavkoff to frantically attempt to put together a deal with Apple TV where the payout would be based on subscriptions. However, not all of the universities were on board, leading to the mass exodus this past week.

In addition to the four schools that joined the Big 12, Oregon and Washington announced they would be heading to the Big Ten. There they will join USC and UCLA in 2024.

There has been some speculation that FOX, which owns the Big Ten’s media rights through 2029-30, convinced Oregon and Washington to reject the Apple TV deal. SBJ reports that both schools reached out to the Big Ten about potential membership, prompting the conference to ask FOX if it could help fund the move.

All this has led us to where we now stand, with the Pac-12 as we know it set to enter its final season of college football in 2023. Fans interested in seeing how it all plays out on the field can tune into FOX, which will broadcast 22 of the conference’s games as it finishes out the final year of its current deal.