Canzano: Oregon State and Washington State close to TV deal for 2025
Pac-12's next step will be rights for 2026... and beyond.
Pac-12 Conference members Oregon State and Washington State are in advanced discussions on a media rights deal involving their 2025 home football games.
At least one of the TV partners will be familiar.
The Beavers have seven home football games next season, and the Cougars have six. The CW will carry as many as nine of those 13 games. The remaining four games would air on other “major” network partners, per a source. The media rights agreement for 2025 is expected to be finalized by the end of the month.
“That’s where this is trending,” said one source. “We’re still nailing down the specifics.”
Getting the media rights deal for 2025 formalized is the first step.
Then, comes the new-look Pac-12’s media rights deal for 2026 and beyond. I’m told the two negotiations have moved in conjunction with each other. Also, the conference needs to add at least one “all sports” member via expansion before July 1, 2026.
It’s been quiet on the media rights front for the Pac-12 in recent weeks. It appears, intentionally so. The conference hired Octagon, an industry powerhouse, to negotiate with potential partners. Commissioner Teresa Gould has been measured with her public remarks and refuses to set deadlines. It’s a departure from the strategic approach of her predecessor, George Kliavkoff, who failed to get a deal done.
Gould told me in November that the media rights negotiation wouldn’t be all about money. The Pac-12 is interested in growth and values maximum exposure above revenue. The CW is available in 100 percent of households and has true national reach.
“We’re not just looking for whoever is willing to pay the most dollars for our rights,” Gould told me late last year. “We’re looking for partnership. We need a media partner who wants to be part of our growth and what we’re doing to recreate the Pac-12.”
There’s been considerable focus on the league’s 2026-2031 media rights package involving the reconstituted Pac-12, but Oregon State and Washington State have a 2025 football season that kicks off in August. Last season, The CW’s official announcement of its partnership with the Pac-12 included set kickoff times, which benefitted fans.
Beavers home football games in 2025: Cal, Fresno State, Houston, Wake Forest, Lafayette, Washington State, Sam Houston
Cougars home football games in 2025: Idaho, San Diego State, Washington, Toledo, Louisiana Tech, and Oregon State.
Who could the other “major” partners for the Pac-12 be?
Fox and TNT immediately come to mind. There may be others (ESPN/CBS) involved, too. A source told me: “There are other big-name partners who will allow us to deliver substantial ratings.”
Some or all of the TV partners for the coming season may be involved in the subsequent deal involving the new-look Pac-12. As Gould told me in November: “We have a story to tell. You don’t ideally want to wait until 2026 to start telling it.”
Another source offered on Saturday: “The 2025 piece needs to happen first, but it’s fair to say that 2025 would be a good springboard for what’s after that.”
The CW carried 11 football games for the Pac-12 last season. The network also has the rights to some ACC football games and branded the combined content last season as “CW Football Saturday.”
The most-watched college football game of last season on The CW was the Oregon State vs. Washington State game at Reser Stadium. It drew an audience of 695,000. Five of The CW’s six most-watched college football games in 2024 featured OSU and/or WSU.
The CW also launched a studio show produced in the Bay Area by Pac-12 Enterprises last season. Pac-12 Enterprises also handled the production of the games. Both are expected to be part of the deal for 2025.
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Go Beavs, and go Cougs!
I live in Austin, TX and all The CW programs on Dish Network here are in high definition. On the CW Roku app on my TV every Pac-12 game they aired last year is available to stream any time in HD. At all of The CW’s media upfront meetings with advertising partners, The CW has been very outspoken and pleased with their affiliation with the PAC-12. PAC-12 football was their 7th most watched programming last fall and their ACC football broadcasts didn’t make the top 20 in ratings.