Canzano: Oregon State and Washington State close to TV deal for football games
Exposure -- not revenue -- is the primary focus.
Oregon State and Washington State are putting the final touches on a television deal involving the broadcast of their 2024 home football games.
The Beavers have seven home games next season and the Cougars have six. The two Pac-12 Conference schools bundled them together in a 13-game offering.
The CW Network is believed to be the primary broadcast partner. The network was in extended talks with the Pac-12 as recently as a week ago, per sources.
Officials at Oregon State and Washington State did not return messages seeking comment. However, several insiders told me the two schools were focused on partnering with a linear provider.
“The goal was a broader reach with exposure than what we previously had on the Pac-12 Networks,” one source told me.
The Pac-12 Network fluctuated between 12 million and 19 million subscribers during its run. The CW is carried on 203 stations that cover almost 100 percent of United States households. Oregon State and Washington State’s road football games against Mountain West Conference teams will be broadcast on Fox and CBS as part of that league’s deal.
Last summer, The CW announced a deal with the ACC that runs through the 2026-27 season. The network agreed to air 13 football games, 28 men’s basketball games, and nine women’s basketball games as part of that agreement. It also holds the rights for LIV Golf and NASCAR.
The CW doesn’t have an in-house sports production arm. Raycom produces the ACC sports events. NASCAR produces its broadcasts. If The CW ends up as the Pac-12’s partner, the Pac-12 Network would produce Oregon State and Washington State’s 13 home football games, I’m told.
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That’s a pretty innovative approach
Makes good sense. Getting exposure is very important for OSU and WSU at this point, and CW does that.