The Pac-12’s long saga to find a media partner for next year is reportedly nearing a possible conclusion after commissioner George Kliavkoff proposed a subscription-based deal with streaming giant Apple to the league’s presidents and chancellors on Tuesday.
While Apple could represent the end of the lengthy road for the conference, there were apparently many other networks considered before reaching this point—including one that the Pac-12 approached three times over the last year to try and work out a deal, to no avail.
According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, the Pac-12 sought to broker a deal with NBC on three separate occasions in the past 12 months but was denied each time. The league also tried unsuccessfully to negotiate agreements with ESPN and Fox.
The last time Pac-12 leadership approached NBC was sometime last month with a “significantly low offer,” per Dellenger.
“We were looking for a savior but no one seemed to want to step up,” one Pac-12 insider told Yahoo Sports.
The league was dealt a significant blow last year with USC and UCLA’s surprise exit to the Big Ten for 2024. The conference was further weakened when Colorado announced plans to join the Big 12 next year. With the Pac-12 on shaky ground, the Big 12 is now targeting Arizona, Arizona State and Utah next.
The Big Ten, meanwhile, is discussing adding more schools from the Pac-12, namely Oregon, Washington, Cal and Stanford.
