Canzano: The CW and Pac-12 make TV deal official
The CW will carry 66 annual conference events in 2026-2031.
The new-world Pac-12 formally unveiled the second piece of its media rights package on Wednesday. The CW will carry 66 annual conference events, including 13 regular-season football games beginning in 2026.
I previously reported last week that The CW was locked in and would join CBS as a broadcast partner for the league. The Pac-12 is expected to have at least one, and possibly two, more media partners involved in broadcasts for 2026-2031.
The CW portion of the five-year deal includes:
13 regular-season football games.
35 regular-season men’s basketball games.
15 regular-season women’s basketball games.
Annual women’s basketball tournament semifinal and championship games.
Pac-12 Enterprises, the TV production arm of the conference, will produce all football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball games.
CBS and The CW boast that they reach “100 percent of U.S. households” over the air. CBS and Paramount+ will carry the league’s annual football championship game and the men’s basketball tournament championship game.
CBS will also air “a minimum” of three regular-season football games and three regular-season men’s basketball games, per sources. CBS Sports Network will air a maximum of 10 regular-season football games, and 17 regular-season men’s basketball games.
Some quick takeaways:
— The CW deal is a growth-focused move. It’s the network’s fourth year in sports and underscores the increasing value of live sports programming to TV networks. The CW has moved from featuring shows such as “Dawson’s Creek” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Sports now accounts for 40 percent of the network’s programming hours. It’s one of the few things that viewers are consistently devouring.
— The conference has locked in a TV home for its football championship game and men’s and women’s basketball tournament title games. It can now pivot to where those events will actually be held. Has to be Las Vegas, doesn’t it?
— The CW is typically a discount buyer that nibbles around the edges, but this signals a bigger dip into the sports pond. Brad Schwartz, President of The CW, has some ACC games, but couldn’t get more “Power 4” inventory. He’s making a bet on what most view as the No. 5 conference. Boise State made the College Football Playoff last season, and during the last four seasons, five of the Pac-12’s eight football programs were ranked in the CFP’s Top 25.
— The Pac-12 Enterprises role is interesting to me. I wonder how much revenue the conference’s production side hustle will generate. My media-world sources expect the new-look Pac-12’s total deal to bring in somewhere between $8 million and $12 million, per school. Could the production arm boost the distribution toward the higher end?
— Pac-12 Enterprises will also provide game production for CBS Sports Network broadcasts, I’m told. There is a “separate and additional production relationship” with CBS outside of Pac-12 games, per the league.
— Women’s basketball is a winner in this portion of the deal. Not lost on me that the conference tournament semifinals and championship game get some nice exposure. Also, 15 regular-season games get the spotlight.
— The ratings for the Pac-12’s 11 football games broadcast on The CW in 2024 performed well. The most-watched football game of 2024 on The CW was the Washington State at Oregon State game in Corvallis, which drew 695,000 viewers. The top three most-watched football games on The CW last season were all Pac-12 games. Colorado State at Oregon State drew 568,000 viewers, and San Jose State at Washington State had an audience of 542,000.
— There’s room for one or two more media partners here. There’s a healthy chunk of Pac-12 football and basketball inventory remaining. I’ve long believed that Warner Bros. Discovery might be involved. I also think ESPN’s direct-to-consumer offering is on the table for the conference’s Olympic sports. I’m told Pac-12 executives met with ESPN last week. I was also told by one source that a major streaming service entered the fray and was kicking the tires.
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