The Fall of Pac-12: Failing to Adapt to the Evolving Media Landscape

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Five years ago, Larry Scott was confident that the Pac-12 Conference would excel in navigating the emerging media landscape, taking opportunities that others wouldn’t be able to grasp.

However, that assurance turned out to be a reflection of what the competitors and their commissioners achieved, not Pac-12 itself.

Scott never got the opportunity to negotiate another media deal for Pac-12, and he resigned as commissioner in 2021. His replacement, George Kliavkoff, also failed to secure the necessary deal.

The recent disintegration of Pac-12, marked by five of the remaining nine members leaving for the Big Ten or Big 12, vividly illustrates two realities: the importance of football in college sports, and the limitations on what media markets will pay for content.

Tag Garson of Wasserman, a media company, pointed out that this collapse was related to timing, desired fees, and the evolving world of intercollegiate athletics. It was about ensuring long-term success for schools.

With media rights significantly overtaking ticket sales and donations as the main revenue source, the conference’s income showed a huge jump in 2022 to $399.89 million, which was more than the combined revenue from ticket sales and donor contributions.

Despite speculations, a new Pac-12 rights deal was not reached by the basketball tournament, leading to increased concerns about the future of the conference.

During football media day, Kliavkoff remained vague about media rights negotiations, focusing on football instead. Eventually, a proposed deal with Apple emerged, but the secretive details and probable increased production costs raised eyebrows.

The deal’s out clause after two years was also seen as problematic by Washington President Ana Mari Cauce, who felt that a two-year exit option wasn’t promising.

Kliavkoff inherited an unsustainable situation, including a network that could not secure a deal with DirecTV, and the rejection of ESPN’s partnership offer in 2019 furthered the struggles.

The departure of Southern California and UCLA made matters worse, leaving the Pac-12 hoping for a deal that would keep them on par with others but still trailing behind other Power Five programs.

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormak was contrastingly aggressive, extending deals with ESPN and Fox.

Performance on major stages was also a drawback for Pac-12, with a lack of success in football and men’s basketball, the two most revenue-generating sports. Long droughts in titles, with the last league team playing in a final in 2006, and the late Saturday night window for football not being enough, indicated that networks like ESPN and Fox were unwilling to meet Pac-12’s demands.

Garson emphasized that expectations that networks will continue to financially solve all problems of intercollegiate athletics are unrealistic, stating that there’s a limited amount of money available.

The tale of Pac-12 is thus a cautionary one, reflecting the challenges of adapting to a changing media landscape, competitive pressures, and the financial realities of college sports.

[For more information on college football, visit: https://bigbignews.net/college-football]

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• Pac-12 Conference Official Website
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• NCAA Official Website
• Apple’s Media Deals
• Sports Business Journal