Report: CBS, Turner back out of Pac-12 media rights negotiations

According to a report by Brett McMurphy, CBS and Turner are no longer in negotiations for the PAC-12 media rights.

This report comes just days after the PAC-12 announced that it will be getting a new media rights deal in the near future.

“The 10 PAC-12 universities look forward to consummating successful media rights deal(s) in the very near future. Based upon positive conversations with multiple potential media rights partners over the past weeks, we remain highly confident in our future growth and success as a conference and united in our commitment to one another,” said the conference’s statement.

For its part, CBS is losing its rights to the SEC but replacing them with the Big Ten. Turner, meanwhile, runs channels like TBS and TNT. They don’t currently cover college football and with this news, it appears they won’t in the future either. However, Turner does broadcast the NCAA Tournament.

This, of course, only serves to limit who could be the next media partner for the conference and could speak to how much interest the conference is garnering.

Conference commissioner George Kliavkoff announced that the PAC-12 would seek a new media rights deal following the departure of USC and UCLA. This was to put the conference in a better position for realignment. However, it’s been a long process, with the Big 12 seeking and getting a new media deal of its own in the meantime.

Importantly, Kliavkoff has also said that the conference’s next media deal will include streaming.

Could the PAC-12 expand soon?

The PAC-12 is expected to expand soon. However, George Kliavkoff has also made it clear that the conference will not be expanding until after a media rights deal is in place.

With that being said, San Diego State and SMU have emerged as candidates to join the PAC-12, replacing USC and UCLA. That included Kliavkoff recently visiting SMU’s campus for a basketball game. So, it seems like the conference knows who it wants to invite when the time comes.