Financial terms have not been disclosed, but the Associated Press has reported that the new contract is worth about US$250 million per year to the conference, which will become the Pac-12 in July with the additions of the University of Utah and the University of Colorado. The previous deal with ESPN and Fox for the 10-school conference was worth $60 million per year.
The agreement includes the conference’s American football and basketball games as well as some Olympic sports, but the deal also allows the Pac-10 to hold back other content for a wholly owned cable channel that it plans to launch in 2012.
“The increased revenue that will come to the Pac-12 comes at a critically important time given the unprecedented financial challenges higher education and athletes are facing,” Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott told a press conference. “Make no mistake, today’s announcement has preserved student athlete opportunities and maintained sports within the conference.”
The California-based Pac-10 also plans to start a digital network to show games online that are not aired on ESPN, Fox or its own network. ESPN has reported that the new agreement surpasses the previous record in college sports of $220 million per year for Fox’s deal with the Big Ten.
