Canzano: The CW lined up for new-world Pac-12 football
Plus, Dallas Baptist baseball addition... and the Oregon Ducks offer VIP-access... for a price.
The CW is the soon-to-be-revealed second piece of the Pac-12 Conference’s football media rights package, network sources confirmed on Thursday.
The linear network will air new-world Pac-12 games in 2026-2031, joining CBS, which was previously announced as a league partner in June.
The details and depth of the five-year deal are expected to be formally announced as soon as next week. The partnership provides the conference with broad TV exposure and is an expansion of The CW’s existing two-year relationship with the Pac-12.
In the 2025 season, The CW and CBS will broadcast 11 of the Pac-12’s 13 home games, reaching 100 percent of U.S. households. “CW Football Saturday” kicks off on Saturday, Aug. 30, with a Pac-12 football game between Idaho and Washington State.
The Pac-12’s media rights package for 2026-2031 will include additional components. There will be at least one more partner, and possibly two, I’m told by campus sources.
I previously reported that Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT, TBS, truTV, and Max) has kicked the tires on Pac-12 basketball and football. The network recently lost the NBA rights and has been in discussions with the conference’s media consultant (Octagon). I expect the Pac-12’s Olympic sports programs may end up under the umbrella of ESPN’s direct-to-consumer platform.
I have more details on the Pac-12 + The CW media deal. Also, I have thoughts on the conference’s baseball addition of Dallas Baptist, other affiliate-sport moves, a VIP-access offering involving the University of Oregon football program, and a football coach who is unabashedly “gaming” his Top 25 poll vote.
Emptying my notebook here…