Teresa Gould confirms Pac-12 expects 'multiple media rights partners' in next deal

With multiple additions on the way, the Pac-12 continues its media rights negotiations. The league partnered with Octagon for the talks, and commissioner Teresa Gould confirmed multiple networks could be part of the deal.

The Pac-12 currently consists of just Oregon State and Washington State until July 1, 2026. That’s when Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State will all come on board, along with Gonzaga. However, since Gonzaga doesn’t sponsor football, the conference needs one more full member with football to meet FBS requirements.

As those schools get ready to join, the Pac-12 is also working to get a media deal in place. When asked if the league is looking to work with one network, Gould said she expects multiple partners. By doing so, the conference could reach a wider audience.

“I think for us, based on our objectives for our media rights partnerships – one of which is to reach a diverse audience,” Gould said on Next Up with Adam Breneman. “You hear that all the time from our coaches. We have a diverse fan base, and we need to be on platforms that reach all of our stakeholders. And I think in order to do that, we’re going to have to have multiple media rights partners.

“I don’t see us being in a situation where we walk away with just one partner in order to accomplish all of the things we’re looking to accomplish, including reach, marketing and brand support. All of the things that we’re trying to achieve.”

Teresa Gould: Pac-12 has ‘clean slate’

The Pac-12’s previous media deal included partnerships with ESPN and FOX, as well as the Pac-12 Network, and concluded in 2023. Former commissioner George Kliavkoff worked to put a new agreement together – including one with Apple for a streaming-focused partnership – but nothing came to fruition.

Then, a groundbreaking round of conference realignment ensued. USC and UCLA were already on their way to the Big Ten, and Oregon and Washington joined them. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah then went to the Big 12 while Cal and Stanford left for the ACC.

That left Oregon State and Washington State behind, and they signed a one-year media deal with The CW. The ability to start over, along with Teresa Gould taking over as commissioner, creates a way to truly start from scratch as the conference weighs its media rights options.

“We have a lot of interest,” Gould said. “I think the thing that’s been really fun about it is because we’re in a rebuild situation, we have a clean slate. We don’t have predetermined packages. We have, I call it, the clean whiteboard. And we have an opportunity with potential media rights partners to together, rebuild the conference and reimagine what the future of the Pac-12 is and create it together. I think that’s been really exciting.

“The one thing I keep saying to potential partners is given where we are as a league, I don’t want these partnerships to be transactional partnerships. I don’t want this to be a media rights partner writing us a check and televising a bunch of games. We need these partnerships to be transformational at this point, and for somebody to really jump in with us and say, we want to help elevate and reimagine the new Pac-12.”

Inside the Pac-12’s season on The CW

As Oregon State and Washington State charted a path forward, they struck an agreement with The CW as a media rights partner for the 2024-25 season. Their matchup drew 695,000 viewers in Week 13, which came in as the most-watched game on the network. The CW also aired ACC games this past season.

Teresa Gould pointed to that number as a reason for optimism as the Pac-12 rebuilds. She pointed out the interest in the conference, as well as how Oregon State and Washington State’s performances on FOX.

The Beavers’ rivalry game against Oregon at home drew 2.82 million viewers while their Week 14 matchup at Boise State averaged 1.7 million, according to data compiled by Sports Media Watch. The Cougars, meanwhile, averaged 1.16 million for their Week 2 home game against Texas Tech and their bowl game against Syracuse averaged 2.93 million on FOX.

“I think what we talked about with the legacy Pac-12 brand has proven to be true,” Gould said. “There’s a lot of interest in the marketplace and potential media rights partners really see the value in the legacy of the Pac-12 brand. And then, I would say our metrics have been really strong.

“You look at what Oregon State and Washington State did on The CW this year. That Oregon State-Washington State game was the top-viewed college football game on The CW this year. That meant a lot, and those two FOX games that we had, the viewership was on par with the Big 12. So I think potential media rights partners see it as a valuable product.”