PAC 12 In Danger Of Losing What Little National Exposure It Has As Another TV Partner Jumps Ship

The PAC 12 continues to strike out this offseason as it seems that no one wants to be a part of the league. Recent news about the conference’s pending media rights deal took another hit this week.

It’s been reported that CBS and Turner have jumped ship on a potential deal as television options dwindle. One possible solution could cause the PAC 12 to lose what little national exposure it currently has.

Sports writers Andrew Marchand and John Ourand spoke on the league’s media rights struggles, noting that another major network has pulled out of the race.

Keep in mind that all other Power Five leagues have some sort of television deal with either ABC, NBC, CBS, or FOX. The Big Ten made waves with a deal worth $1 billion that helped them swipe the SEC’s patented CBS Game of the Week partnership.

The SEC has secured a contract with ESPN and ABC as, too, have the Big XII and ACC. The Big XII also has a partnership with FOX.

That leaves the PAC 12 as an outlier as it struggles to find answers following the departures of USC and UCLA. The loss of that Los Angeles market is severely hampering the league’s ability to negotiate a deal.

And that might be just the beginning. A recent cancellation in an Ohio State vs. Washington football series has many believing the Huskies are on the way out, too.

While ESPN is still interested in late night PAC 12 time slots, another solution continues to pick up steam. Andrew Marchand reports that the conference could look to a streaming service to air the majority of its sports outings.

Andrew Marchand reported last fall that the Pac-12 and ESPN were “hundreds of millions apart.” Which may explain why the Pac-12 is looking at possibly putting the majority of its games on a streaming platform.

Should that happen, even less eyes will be on a conference that already struggles to gain viewership.

An annual College Football Playoff debate arises year after year as West Coast teams complain that the national media doesn’t watch their games. The league often points to that viewership as a form of disrespect when their top teams aren’t considered for postseason slots.

Imagine how many fewer fans will watch if the league has to go to an all-Amazon partnership.

Things continue to go from bad to worse for the PAC 12. We’ll see if they can shore up a deal soon.