SAN RAMON, Calif. — The saga of the Pac-12 and their inability to strike a media rights deal continues on, over nine months after USC and UCLA announced their decision to leave for the Big Ten in 2024.
The latest partner connected to the conference of champions is The CW, a broadcast network known mostly for superhero TV shows and reruns of Whose Line is it Anyway?
While the Pac-12 insists the package discussed with The CW was only a handful of games, Locked on Pac-12 host Spencer McLaughlin believes there is potential for a fit here to work out - although it's far from perfect.
"Where it would help, compared to a streaming entity, is that it's going to be easier for people to watch," McLaughlin said. "It's easy to mock the Pac-12 for being on a non-traditional cable channel like The CW, but [those concerns] would be alleviated."
Of course, for a league already decimated in the court of public opinion, having even some of their games streamed at The CW would be a big blow to the league's perception across the college sports landscape.
Right now the league's biggest priority is keeping the ten remaining member schools from departing, and getting some kind of agreement in place should help calm the nerves from schools like Colorado and Arizona who many feel are close to making a move.
This story continues to develop, and for more on media rights and conference realignment check out the Locked on Pac-12 podcast!