Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff’s technique for the momentous media rights negotiations subsequent yr will deal with income alternatives, content material distribution and aggressive benefits, a nuanced element that would lead to soccer begin occasions being set per week earlier than kickoff.
As Pac-12 followers know all too properly, that course of has existed for a decade: The convention’s media companions (ESPN and Fox) dictate which video games are performed within the varied broadcast home windows, both six or 12 days prematurely.
However Kliavkoff’s plan comes with a twist:
The Pac-12, not its media companions, would decide which video games are performed within the varied time slots as a way to maximize publicity for groups in playoff rivalry — even when it means taking rather less cash from the networks.
“One of many issues I need to negotiate for, together with income and broad distribution, is the chance to have some flexibility with respect to when video games are performed and who performs in these video games,’’ Kliavkoff mentioned final week throughout a podcast with AJ Maestas, the CEO of Navigate, which offers knowledge and analytics to shoppers within the sports activities and leisure fields.
“You'll be able to think about later within the season that I'd nonetheless, as (a) convention, have the ability to present the distribution companions with a prime-time West Coast recreation. However it might be negotiated — even when we depart some cash on the desk — that the convention will get to find out which of our colleges performs in these video games should you get your self into place when there’s a possible (School Soccer Playoff) invitee or a child within the ultimate rounds of rivalry for the Heisman (Trophy).”
The present contracts with ESPN, Fox and the Pac-12 Community’s companions (Comcast, DISH, and many others.) all expire on the identical date: June 30, 2024. However as a result of huge media offers are sometimes consummated greater than a yr prematurely, Kliavkoff seemingly will start critical negotiations subsequent winter.
Each shred of Pac-12 content material will likely be obtainable, however Kliavkoff isn’t lifeless set on chasing the very best bid. Income for the campuses is important, however so is entry to content material.
“No matter deal we do,” he advised Maestas, “it’s my purpose to have our content material obtainable on any piece of glass linked to the web. Interval, full cease.”
The aggressive piece can also be important as a way to greatest place the Pac-12 for the playoff berths and particular person awards which can be very important to protecting five-star recruits from leaving the footprint to play within the SEC and Large Ten.
In the end, Kliavkoff’s media technique will likely be set by his bosses, the college presidents and chancellors who run the convention. Oregon’s Michael Schill is the present chair of the Pac-12 Board, however his two-year time period ends this summer season. Washington’s Ana Mari Cauce will likely be in cost when Kliavkoff takes a seat on the negotiating desk in early 2023.
“That is all a steadiness, similar to any negotiation,” Kliavkoff mentioned. “And for me, the essential half is No. 1, figuring out what these tradeoffs are. You surrender one, you get one other. That’s No. 1.
“No. 2 (is) being extremely clear with my stakeholders, my presidents and chancellors, my athletic administrators and coaches, and getting buy-in on the place we should always come out on that steadiness.
“After which it’s being extremely clear with our distribution companions or potential distribution companions about what’s essential to us. And hear, they could find yourself saving a little bit cash in the event that they’re keen to surrender some flexibility, and vice versa. That's all a part of this negotiation, and we simply need to be clear about that.”
In a short dialog with the Hotline on Tuesday morning earlier than boarding a flight, Kliavkoff emphasised the inevitability of give-and-take.
In spite of everything, there’s an inverse relationship between media income and scheduling flexibility.
The convention’s broadcast companions pays a premium for the proper to regulate the schedule, slot video games into prime-time home windows on the West Coast (7:30 p.m. PT) and set the kickoff occasions one week prematurely.
However these mechanisms make engagement tough for followers and sequester essential video games in broadcast slots too late for a lot of the nation.
If the Pac-12 takes again a level of management and prioritizes what works greatest for the faculties (ticket gross sales, kickoffs set prematurely) and the aggressive product (most publicity for the perfect groups), the money circulate assuredly can be impacted.
It’s price noting that the present disparity in annual income between the Pac-12 and its peer leagues is similar to the scenario in 2010, when the college presidents directed then-commissioner Larry Scott to chase the cash on the expense of publicity and fan-friendly scheduling.
That yr, every Large Ten college acquired about $22 million in convention distributions, whereas the Pac-10 shipped roughly $9 million to its campuses. As of late, the numbers are about $55 million for the Large Ten and $33 million for the Pac-12 (in non-pandemic years).
However after a decade of arduous classes, disgruntled followers and seven:30 p.m. kickoffs, the calculation isn’t as clear. A full-throttle pursuit of each final greenback would value the convention dearly.
“It’s all a balancing act,” Kliavkoff mentioned.
Kliavkoff addressed a number of different subjects particular to media rights and scheduling throughout the hour-long Navigate podcast, together with:
— The period of the Pac-12’s offers with Fox and ESPN:
“When our media rights have been renegotiated 9 years in the past, we leapfrogged everybody (in income), and our convention mainly accelerated into first place. The issue, which on the time most likely appeared like a good suggestion, however the tradeoff for shifting into first place was as an alternative of agreeing to a five- or six-year deal, we agreed to 12-year deal that has two-and-a-half years left … Each different convention that’s had the chance to renegotiate within the final 9 years has handed us.”
— On the worth of sports activities rights:
“Their worth has really accelerated. When the unique (Pac-12) deal was achieved, the idea was there can be a 10-to-12 % (enhance) within the worth of media rights and so long as we’re on that trajectory, we’ll be forward of the curve. What’s occurred is media rights within the final 5, six, seven years have tripled in worth.”
— On the curiosity in Pac-12 content material:
“Each metric about it makes sports activities rights probably the most useful form of rights, and there are a limiteless variety of new providers coming on-line that every one need that content material. So we’re going to have a number of bidders for each tier of our rights going into renegotiation … We are able to slice and cube these rights and have a number of bidders for each bundle we put collectively.”
— On future soccer schedules with alliance companions:
“My nirvana in soccer is eight convention video games, one recreation towards the Large Ten, one recreation towards the ACC yearly — every of these being both residence or away — and the final two video games to make the 12-game season can be as much as the athletic director and the soccer coach to resolve who they need to play. It can take some time to get to that eight-plus-one-plus-one due to present contractual commitments.”
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