We gained a few crumbs of clarity this week on the state of Pac-12 media rights negotiations. Here’s a recap, in five parts …Nothing generates rumor, innuendo and leaks from anonymous sources quite like conference realignment. The Pac-12 has done a remarkable job keeping quiet for the past eight months as it negotiates a media rights contract and considers expansion.First, Washington State president Kirk Schulz told the Hotline that he expects the saga to end next month..
Notably, Anderson hinted at the revenue piece, saying, “It may not be the projections originally contemplated but will be a solid enough financial situation to keep this conference together.”We believe the conference initially hoped to secure a media rights deal that would spin off annual revenue that approached $40 million per school per year.
It could be a few million more per year or a few million less. Either way, the figure is unlikely to materially alter the competitive balance. Our sense is the conference is negotiating on multiple tracks at once, with ESPN, Amazon and Apple all involved.