The Pac-12 Conference football television deal was formally unveiled on Tuesday.
Oregon State and Washington State’s 13 combined home games will air on The CW and Fox next season, as I previously reported.
The CW will carry 11 of the games, including the OSU-WSU matchup. Fox or FS1 will broadcast the Texas Tech vs. Washington State game on Sept. 7 and the Civil War matchup between Oregon and Oregon State on Sept. 13.
The schedules:
Oregon State Home Games
8/31 - Idaho State - 3:30 p.m. PT on The CW
9/14 - Oregon – Time TBD on FOX or FS1
9/21 - Purdue - 5:30 p.m. PT on The CW
10/5 - Colorado State - 3:30 p.m. PT on The CW
10/19 - UNLV - 12:30 p.m. PT or 7:00 p.m. PT on The CW *
11/9 - San Jose State - 12:30 p.m. PT or 7:30 p.m. PT on The CW *
11/23 - Washington State - 3:30 p.m. PT on The CW
* To be determined no later than 12 days prior
Washington State Home Games
8/31 - Portland State - 12:00 p.m. PT on The CW
9/7 - Texas Tech - Time TBD on FOX or FS1
9/20 - San Jose State - 7:00 p.m. PT on The CW **
10/19 - Hawaii - 12:30 p.m. PT or 7:00 p.m. PT on The CW *
11/9 - Utah State - 12:30 p.m. PT or 7:30 p.m. PT on The CW *
11/30 - Wyoming - 3:30 p.m. PT on The CW
* To be determined no later than 12 days prior
** Friday game
Some quick takeaways:
• All 13 games are carried by linear providers and are available in every TV household. That provides maximum exposure for the two schools. That was a key point of emphasis for the Cougars and Beavers.
• There will be lots of daylight football in Corvallis and Pullman. Washington State coach Jake Dickert told me that when he saw an early version of the TV schedule he was stoked. Said Dickert: “It was nice to see 12 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. mixed in there.”
• The games on The CW will be slotted to immediately follow the ACC games that air the network. That should help with building an audience.
• The Oct. 19 and Nov. 9 games have OSU and WSU either kicking off at 12:30 p.m. PT or 7/7:30 p.m. The team with the better record is likely to receive the early kickoff time slot, per a source.
• The Cougars will host San Jose State on Friday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. It’s the only Friday night game on the home schedule for either team.
• The Oregon State vs. Washington State game will be on The CW, not Fox as I originally reported. The CW apparently wanted that head-to-head Pac-12 game as part of its package. A league source insists the game was earmarked for The CW from the beginning. Regardless, it’s lots of exposure for the two schools.
• There were no financials provided by the Pac-12 on Tuesday. I expect the deal to fall in the range of $5 million to $9 million per school. I’ll drill down, make records requests, and ask my sources. I’ll get the figures.
• Retired Fox Sports Network President Bob Thompson told me last week: “I don’t know what the financials are, but I don’t think it matters. Exposure is paramount at this point because in order for them to remain relevant should another shoe drop and begin (realignment) anew, it’s very important for them to be top of mind.”
• The Beavers and Cougars will play eight combined road games vs. Mountain West Conference opponents in 2024. Those games will be carried by the MWC’s media partners — Fox and CBS.
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As a DirecTV subscriber unable to view the PAC-12 Network, I couldn’t be happier about the CW agreement. 👏🏻👏🏻
Mt. West games, at least in the recent past, have been FS1 or FS2, and CBSNet - not Fox and CBS. I mention that because cable or some form of streaming may be required rather than just relying on "antenna TV."