The Pac-12 Conference announced its massive new media deal Wednesday morning, what commissioner Larry Scott termed a "landmark deal." The deal is worth a reported $3 billion over 12 years, an average of nearly $21 million per school per year, and will begin in 2012-2013. In addition to showing games on various networks of ESPN and Fox, the conference created Pac-12 Media Enterprises, which owns the new Pac-12 Network, the Pac-12 Digital Network, and Pac-12 Properties.
"We are especially delighted to be strengthening and expanding our relationship with ESPN and FOX Sports to deliver an unprecedented level of innovative sports programming to large national audiences across the country. With this agreement, we will deliver our events over two broadcast networks and at least five premiere national cable platforms," Scott said. "In addition, we will have our own Pac-12 National Cable TV platform and Pac-12 Digital Network platform."
Here are some details of the deal, which begins in 2012:
- 10 regular season football games each season will be on ABC or Fox
- 34 football games will be on a combination of FX, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU
- Roughly three football games per week will be on the Pac-12 Network
- The Pac-12 Championship Game in football will be a Friday night prime time game, and will be televised by Fox Sports in 2012, then alternate each year with ESPN
- 68 regular season basketball games will be on ESPN, ESPN2, or Fox Sports Net
- The balance of basketball games will be either on the Pac-12 Network or the Pac-12 Digital Network
- The final three rounds of the Pac-12 men's basketball tournament will alternate each year between ESPN/ESPN2 and Fox/FX, beginning in 2013, with the Pac-12 Network showing the balance of the tournament.
For more Pac-12 news with a local flavor, be sure to read the SB Nation blogs for both USC (Conquest Chronicles) and UCLA (Bruins Nation).