Canzano: ESPN, CBS, The CW partner with Pac-12
2025 football media deal is finalized.
The Pac-12 Conference has finalized its media rights contracts for the 2025 football season.
ESPN and CBS Sports will combine with The CW Network to broadcast the 13 home football games of Oregon State and Washington State next season, this publication has learned. The financial details have not yet been released.
Bob Thompson, the retired president of Fox Sports Networks, told me: “Putting dollars aside, I think this is a great outcome for OSU and WSU for the 2025 season. It appears to give them wide exposure for all of their games, which is paramount at this point.”
The next question for the Pac-12: What happens in 2026 and beyond?
The new-look conference has added six new schools via expansion, but still needs to add at least one more all-sports member. Also, there’s a media deal for 2026-3031 that is still being negotiated by Octagon, the conference’s consulting firm.
Said Thompson: “I would assume that the networks that signed up for 2025 have some sort of first rights on 2026 and beyond. It will be interesting to see what the structure of the new deal is.”
ESPN’s renewed partnership in 2025 with the Pac-12 raised some eyebrows. The long-time Pac-12 media partner didn’t carry any conference football games last season. In 2025, ESPN will air two Oregon State home games — the Beavers’ season-opener against Cal (Aug. 30), and a Friday-night game at Reser Stadium vs. Houston (Sept. 26).
Meanwhile, CBS will carry the Apple Cup game between Washington State and Washington (Sept. 20) and also broadcast the WSU at OSU football game (Nov. 1). The CW, as I previously reported, will air nine Pac-12 football games next season. CBS and The CW reach 100 percent of households via over-the-air broadcast.
Visibility was the top priority for the two-member conference. Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould told me late last year that her conference valued exposure over revenue and wanted growth-focused partners.
“We’re not just looking for whoever is willing to pay the most dollars for our rights,” Gould told me in November. “We’re looking for a partnership. We need a media partner who wants to be part of our growth and what we’re doing to recreate the Pac-12.”
Other takeaways:
• The 2025 TV deal couldn’t have worked out much better for the Beavers. OSU gets two home games on ESPN, one on CBS, and has five other games on The CW (four home, one away). It’s solid exposure for a team capable of winning games behind transfer QB Maalik Murphy.
• Washington State plays twice on CBS (one home, one away), and the Cougars have five home games on The CW in 2025. WSU is now led by first-year coach Jimmy Rogers.
• Kickoff times and dates for all the Pac-12 home games are set. It’s the earliest announcement of all kickoff times in conference history. Season-ticket holders will rejoice.
• Oregon State has three daylight kickoffs and four home games that kick off at 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. Washington State has three early kickoffs and three games that kick off at 7 p.m. or later.
• The 2025 media deal was set to be unveiled early last week, but there was a delay caused by ESPN moving the OSU-Houston game originally slated for a Saturday to a Friday evening. The amended game contract wasn’t signed by administrators at UH until this week.
• Pac-12 Enterprises, the broadcast production arm of the conference, will produce all nine broadcasts for The CW. The conference’s side hustle appears to be alive and well.
• The CW will broadcast the Oregon State at Washington State game on Nov. 29, the second of the two home-and-home matchups between the schools in 2025.
• Yes, the two Pac-12 schools are playing each other twice in the 2025 regular season. No, it’s not unprecedented. Liberty and New Mexico State played each other twice in the 2018 regular season. UMass and UConn also played twice in the 1998 regular season.
• On Sept. 6, The CW will showcase a pair of new-look Pac-12 matchups as part of a tripleheader. It includes Fresno State at Oregon State (12:30 p.m.) and San Diego State at Washington State (7:15 p.m.).
• The CBS games will also stream live on Paramount+.
• I’m not surprised that The CW is back as a Pac-12 partner. The most-watched football game on the network last season was the game between Washington State and Oregon State. It drew 695,000 viewers. Five of the top six most-watched football games on The CW last season featured either OSU or WSU.
This is a huge win for WSU and OSU to have all of their home games on networks that reach most customers. PAC-12 After Dark is back!
All good news John. We appreciate you keeping us, your faithful PAC-12 followers informed. Go Beavs in 2025.