As Pac-12 TV negotiations grind on, Big Ten makes unsettling discovery

The sticky details of TV contracts continue to be a hurdle for college conferences, and it’s not just the Pac-12.

Now, the Big Ten school leaders are scratching collectively their heads.

But let’s look at the Pac-12 first.

Dennis Dodd, a CBS sports college reporter, reported three weeks ago from an Arizona collegiate sporting summit that ESPN was no longer in talks with the Pac-12 about a possible deal. He was immediately challenged by several national voices.

Andrew Marchand, the host of the Sports Business Journal Podcast, confirmed this over the weekend: ESPN and Pac-12 have not reached an agreement on a contract for tier one products.

In the meantime, do you remember that lofty deal to set standards which was announced by the Big Ten after it annexed USC? A close look at the fine print has left many league presidents, and even chancellors, unsatisfied and concerned.

Apparently, Tony Petitti, the new commissioner of Big Ten discovered that portions of the massive $7 billion TV agreement his predecessor negotiated was not completed.

What should we make out of the reporting that has taken place in the last 24 hours?

Is TV too involved with college football?

What is the role of TV in sports?

Are Universities addicted to TV Money? 

Yes, it appears that this coin-fest has become the opiate for modern football.

It’s powerful.

It’s the engine.

The TV can disrupt conferences, force expansion and contraction, feed those who have and starve those without, and even challenge the foundations of academic institutions. These power and money have the ability to turn friends against each other, break promises, and test loyalty.

NCAA sports are controlled by TV.

In the Big Ten, presidents and chancellors are trying to clarify “unfinished” aspects of its multibillion-dollar TV contract, the largest money deal in college sports.

Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State have said they will not play late-November night games that would be on NBC, affecting “tens of millions of dollars of value” to NBC’s contract. They apparently don’t like the night games in the cold that “detract” from recovery and the convenience for their teams. But if they don’t play those games, it would cost the league about $5 million per school.

Another Big Ten “item” that needs resolving is that schools have to pay Fox $25 million for lost 2020 football games due to COVID-19.

These details were somehow lost in all the celebration and ballyhoo over the Big Ten’s huge money windfall negotiated by previous commissioner Kevin Warren. These details were assumed to be taken care of. 

Now, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, there is more than $70 million either “gone or in flux.”

What is the impact of this on Pac-12? Well, with the Big Ten tackling fine print and a lot of money disparity, there really can’t be further poaching of the Pac-12 (Oregon, Washington) in the immediate future.

The Pac-12’s situation is simply perplexing. Who will be the main carrier of that league’s games? Will the majority of it be linear or streaming? What brands and platforms are there?

According to New York Post sports columnist Marchand, “ESPN & Pac-12 are having no substantive talks at this time. ESPN passed on Big Ten, Sunday Ticket, Premier League, Champions League & MLS, so the idea it will be completely out on Pac-12 is not in the least bit surprising. Things can always change & maybe Pac-12 can figure out a creative way to get ESPN involved, but right now that seems very unlikely.”

I believe ESPN had an offer on the table months ago and simply hasn’t budged and won’t move because nobody else is in a position to up the ante.  

Thus, ESPN is not involved in an active role because it just will not and doesn’t need to at this point.

You must also be impressed by the faith and solidarity expressed by Pac-12 officials that a satisfactory agreement will be concluded soon. It’s just that nobody knows what soon and satisfactory mean.

Writes David Hookstead in Outkick.com, “Multiple Pac-12 officials have tried their best to claim everything will be fine and the conference is strong. As each day passes, the situation looks more like Baghdad Bob.

“Sure, you can claim Iraq is winning the war, but we can all see the American tanks on the horizon. That’s increasingly the energy people are seeing out of the West Coast conference.”

Ralph Freso Associated Press