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Pac-12, The CW announce new media rights deal through 2031 season

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MARCH 05: A Pac-12 Conference logo is shown on the court before the Pac-12 Conference women’s basketball tournament championship game between the Washington State Cougars and the UCLA Bruins at Michelob ULTRA Arena on March 05, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars defeated the Bruins 65-61. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) (Ethan Miller)
By Greg Woods gregw@spokesman.com(509) 459-5587

PULLMAN – The new Pac-12’s media rights future is coming together.

On Wednesday, the conference announced an extended partnership with the CW, which will carry football and men’s and women’s basketball games through the 2030-31 season. The rebuilt conference, with Washington State and Oregon State as holdover members, is set to launch with the 2026-27 season.

The Pac-12’s media rights holders now include the CW and CBS, the latter of which was revealed in June to be the conference’s “primary long-term media partner” with a five-year agreement. That means the league’s deals with both networks are set to expire in 2031.

The CW, which is set to air six WSU football games this fall, will broadcast the following Pac-12 affairs each year:

• Annual women’s basketball tournament semifinal and championship games.

• 13 regular-season football games.

• 35 regular-season men’s basketball games.

• 15 regular-season women’s basketball games.

CBS will broadcast the Pac-12’s football and men’s basketball championship games.

“Our partnership with The CW has been one of mutual growth and transformation, from the development of our Pac-12 Enterprises’ broadcast production business to the significant added value and positive impact to our current and future members via true national reach across 100% of U.S. television households,” Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould said via release. “I am excited for the continued growth of both The CW and the Pac-12 in the years ahead.”

In addition to WSU and Oregon State, the new Pac-12 will include Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Utah State, Gonzaga (basketball only) and Texas State, the last of which made a crucial eighth member, which is necessary to be recognized as an FBS conference by the NCAA and become eligible for the College Football Playoff.

The Pac-12 will now enjoy even more visibility on the CW, which reaches 100% of U.S. households via over-the-air broadcast networks. Combined with CBS, the Pac-12 will nationally televise each year a minimum of 16 regular-season football games, 38 regular-season men’s basketball games and 15 regular-season women’s basketball games.

In the wake of the traditional Pac-12’s collapse in August 2023, the CW stepped in and agreed to broadcast football games for WSU and OSU, including six games apiece last season for the Cougars and Beavers. The conference valued visibility over a little more revenue, which is why officials chose the CW, which reaches every household with cable.

Last season, the most-watched football game on the CW (which also broadcasts ACC contests) was WSU’s road loss to OSU, which was watched by some 695,000 people. The Cougs and Beavs will meet twice this fall, once in Corvallis and once in Pullman, an exceedingly rare in-season home-and-home series.

More media rights partnerships for the Pac-12 will be announced when those agreements are finalized, the conference said in Wednesday’s release.

“The Pac-12 has been a key partner in the success of CW Sports, and we are thrilled to solidify our relationship with the conference for an additional five years,” CW Network president Brad Schwartz said via release. “We have experienced firsthand the passion of the Oregon State and Washington State football programs and their dedicated fans and we are eager to introduce an additional seven schools in the new Pac-12 to our nationwide CW Sports audience. We are also excited to bring Pac-12 men’s and women’s basketball to our viewers featuring some of the most dynamic and celebrated collegiate programs in the country.”