A reason given for delay in the Pac-12 media deal: "Optics"
WSU President, Kirk Schulz, says announcing a big dollar media contract at the same time as big layoffs are announced at ESPN/Disney, and other media outlets, makes for bad "optics":
Some are not so certain this reason holds water. A reliable insider says one issue is the Pac-12's asking price was to high for the major outlets. And speaking of media outlets, he says The CW never had a real shot at getting the Pac-12 media deal. So apparently, The Athletic was wrong in how they characterized The CW/Pac-12 meet up.
For a couple months the June-July time frame has been used as to when the deal will be done. Maybe the "optics" is the real reason. But won't the news about the economy still be on people's minds then? Seems like it would be. The fiscal year for the Pac-12 Conference ends on June 30. Could that have something to do with it, i.e., they're waiting, for some reason, for the next fiscal year? If anyone has knowledge of how money is handled in P5 Conferences, could you lend a hand in helping to understand why that particular time frame may have significance other than "optics"?
PAC-12 administrator in charge of optics...
It would appear he’s targeting the gutter, and not the stars…
"SAY 'OPTICS' AGAIN!"
had a detroiter at the detroiter
now THAT is a tasty burger
I had a Clyde's Double* (half pounder) burger in St. Ignace Sunday.
Now THAT is a really tasty burger!
*(Their Big C [3/4 lbs of meat] is just more than I can handle anymore, but I highly recommend it even if your doctor might not.)
Who knows how to decode their words. But "June 30" does have relevance here IMO.
Going back to June 30, 2022 ---- the day started nice and quietly. And then the USC/UCLA rumor came from literally nowhere, and it was a done deal by EOD. It was over in 8 hours!
And the B1G & USCLA chose June 30 for a reason. The literal last day of the NCAA calendar year: nobody had any chance for a counter-move.
It's very possible that something similar could happen this June. CU + Utah + the Arizona schools to the Big XII? Oregon + Washington to the B1G? Both have been rumored. And if one of those is going to happen, why not wait until late June once again?
If I'm a media group, I'm not signing anything w/ the Pac-12 until July 2023 at the earliest. Let's make sure there isn't any movement prior.
"Bad optics" = "still exploring the possibility of a deal with Seattle Community Access Network, but it's complicated"
♪♫ Wayne's World! Wayne's World! ♪♫♪
Schwing!
Party time! Excellent!
Extreme closeup!
It's certainly optics--no one wants to watch the Pac-10.
Or the soon to be PAC 4.
Funny, until recently there were overseas alumni groups, etc. where the PAC 4 basically referred to Cal, Stanford, UCLA and USC.
threads about media rights negotiations are so very darren rovell. that's not a compliment.
It's hard to pick what conference has been the worst strategy wise. Between the Big East going all in on football (aka Burger King going all in on fish sandwiches), the Big 12 constantly swapping teams of higher to lower value so that you end up with leftovers, to I'm sure some smaller conferences out there, there is a lot to choose from.
With that in mind, I do think the Pac 12 has made particularly disastrous moves when you consider the assets they started with and where they are now.
It's definitely the Big XII. As soon as that league allowed a TV network to convince them to stay at 10 teams, in exchange for a minor raise, that league was on life support. The minute that was announced I thought the Big Ten needed to make the call to Oklahoma and Texas.
I assume the Big 10 did reach out and it just didn't work out. I would much rather have have TX and OK over USC UCLA. Better fit geographically as well as football fan engagement, compared to the empty stadiums out in LA.
I realize Oklahoma isn't exactly top flight in a lot of education rankings, but they would fit as a large state university culturally. And Texas is a shoo-in.
If the story is to believed, it was UCLA and USC that approached the Big Ten, and the Big Ten said, "What? Hmmm...Let me think about it for minute...OK, I guess we can't afford not to...Sure, let's do it!"
I'm still holding out hope for entertainment purposes only!
PAC-12 football episode 9...
My mind is flooded with jokes about Buffy and Oregon State. Bad, sophomoric mind!
Also thinking of potential heds for when Oregon State shuts down Washington's quarterback...
There's no shame in changing your conference name to the Bud Lite 12-Pac. The logo, though...
Our utter collapse is just optics!
What about the optics....of the optics?
Amazing how it doesn't seem so long ago that the PAC-12 creating their own network outright (with LA as media hub) rather than giving ownership/control to a TV network, and the possibility of snatching Texas and Oklahoma from the Big XII to join them and they seemed like the future.