Arizona State AD Ray Anderson voices frustration with Pac-12 media rights negotiations

The Pac-12 media rights negotiations are still going on, even as reports about Apple’s potential interest swirl. However, Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson suggested a deal could come together in the next few weeks — although he admitted his frustrations with the talks.

Anderson joined Arizona Sports’ Bickley and Marotta to talk about where things stand with the Pac-12 as it works toward its next agreement.

“We’re managing it by being patient and letting the process with our new commissioner take its course. It’s been challenging and it’s been frustrating, I don’t think anybody can deny that,” Anderson said, via Arizona Sports. “And so we’ve had to be patient because, very frankly, we’re not in control. We certainly believe in the value of this market and certainly the value ASU as an institution brings to the Pac-12 conference.”

Ray Anderson: Pac-12 ‘anxious to have something resolved here in the next couple, three weeks’

The Pac-12 saw the top TV stations come off the board with other deals over the last few months. In August, the Big Ten signed a landmark deal with FOX, CBS and NBC to air its games and the Big 12 re-upped its contracts with FOX and ESPN in October. The SEC already agreed to a reported $300 million deal with ABC and ESPN in 2019.

That leaves the Pac-12 without a home. Still, Anderson said he’s optimistic the league can orchestrate a deal to keep the current 10 schools together. Remember, USC and UCLA are leaving for the Big Ten in 2024, meaning the conference is losing its two highest-profile institutions.

“Certainly, we’re all anxious to have something resolved here in the next couple, three weeks, so we can take next steps and get some of this speculation out of the air in regard to what other conferences may be thinking in terms of trying to pick off Pac-10 teams, if you will, and what we may do in terms of adding institutions,” Anderson said. “Getting a media rights deal will clear the air for figuring out some of that other stuff.

“We’ve just been forced like everyone else, unfortunately, to let this thing play out because we’re not directly in the driver’s seat. That being said, we have confidence our commissioners and our presidents and chancellors are going to get to a place where a media rights deal and a grant of rights is done. It may not be the projections originally contemplated but will be a solid enough financial situation to keep this conference together and then (we will) really work hard to move forward positively.”

SBJ’s John Ourand: Pac-12 missed an opportunity to make a deal six months ago

In September, the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand — who co-hosts a sports media podcast with Ourand — reported the Pac-12 was “hundreds of millions of dollars apart” from a potential deal with ESPN. Now apparently looking at streaming options, SBJ’s John Ourand said it’s a tough spot considering the streaming landscape.

“Here’s the problem that the Pac-12 faces. There was a good deal to be had six months ago, back when you were talking about how far apart the two sides were,” Ourand told Marchand. “In the ensuing six months, all of the traditional television stations — CBS, who had been kicking the tires, is out. FOX, which had been kicking the tires, did the Big 12 deal and [CEO Eric] Shanks told us, they’re pretty set with what they want in terms of college. NBC has its Big Ten and primetime, there’s not a lot there. And ESPN is becoming a lot more cost conscious. There are, as you said, must-have programming, which the NBA falls in, the NFL falls in, certain big college conferences fall in. Right now, it doesn’t look like the Pac-12 is falling into that.

“Then, on the streaming side, all of a sudden, you have Wall Street that is no longer prioritizing gaining subscribers. They want to see profits, whereas you had all of these streaming companies competing against each other to drive up the prices and bidding wars. Now, they have to have a lot more discernment, they have to have a lot more responsibility in terms of what they’re paying so that they’re not overpaying. It’s just a really tough market if you’re a college conference that’s not the Big Ten or the SEC right now.”