The Big 12 and Pac-12 have ended talks about a potential merger or partnership after several conversations between conferences over the past few weeks. The Top 12 finally left the negotiating table Monday night after reviewing his options, sources tell CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd
The Top 12 is reportedly approaching Pac-12 first with the league discussing options including a full merger, television rights pooling or scheduling partnership, according to ESPN. In the end, the Top 12 believed the merger might be the most profitable but decided it had the better option as adding multiple Pac-12 programs would not help the league substantially increase its media rights revenue.
While direct talks between the Top 12 and Pac-12 have stalled, the possibility remains that the leagues could influence each other during the realignment of the conference. The Top 12 is still considering adding a Pac-12 team to its membership, league sources told Dodd on Monday night.
The Big 12 have engaged in in-depth discussions with as many as six Pac-12 schools about joining the conference: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah along with Oregon and Washington. However, all parties appear to be in wait-and-see mode as Notre Dame (and NBC) make their decision, which could impact the Big 12’s media rights revenue.
The Pac-12 has been aggressive since USC and UCLA announced plans to leave the league in 2024. In addition to talks with the Top 12, Pac-12 has spoken to the ACC about a potential scheduling partnership that could result in ESPN taking over part of the Pac-12 television contract to show more games in front of a national audience. However, some reports dispute the idea that the partnership will be financially profitable.
The Pac-12 Board of Directors gave approval to commissioner George Kliavkoff to start negotiations on a new television contract as the existing league deal expires in 2024. Pac-12 is in the midst of an exclusive 30-day negotiating window with Fox and ESPN. Until the television number is officially presented, it is unlikely that the stakeholders involved will make a binding decision.
“Because the Big 12’s media rights are non-negotiable until 2024, Pac-12 schools don’t have the motivation to join the Big 12,” a Pac-12 source told ESPN. “Pac-12 have announced that they are staying together and are in the middle of negotiating media rights.”
12 is likely to start negotiating similar media rights a year from now as his contract expires in 2025. New Top 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark stressed that maximizing TV revenue will be his most important job over the next three years. Several Top 12 sources have stated that the league is only interested in expansion if it will bring monetary value to the league.
“There is no higher priority than positioning the Top 12 for the upcoming multimedia rights negotiations,” Yormark said. “Everything we do has to create momentum for those negotiations.”
