Amid the Pac-12 media deal bafflement, shining the light on Pac-10's gigantic $3 Billion media deal with elite networks

The uncertainty surrounding the Pac 12-media deal has clouded the college football universe before the start of the season. Although, this was not the case with the conference when it signed its record $3 billion media deal with Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN and News Corp.'s Fox Network.

The Pac-10 media deal in 2011 was extended for 12 years. The deal averaged out to $250 million per year and included football, basketball and Olympic sports rights. Larry Scott was the commissioner of Pac-10 at that duration.

With the change in management, comes the change that is building the future. Current commissioner George Klaivkoff's effort to present a lucrative Pac-12 media deal has caused a stir among the remaining teams. USC, UCLA and Colorado have already announced their decisions to leave the conference.

A conference that once took advantage of the soaring market building for college football is now picking up pieces to keep the 108-year-old league alive.

"The ESPN family and Fox will have 68 basketball games, and we’ll have over 100 games for the Pac-12, and again a high quality," Larry Scott said in 2011. "We’re very pleased with where we’ve ended up, and we’re looking forward to the next phase and solidifying the arrangement for our network.”

George Kliavkoff to work wonders if he wishes to match Larry Scott's Pac-12 media deal (then Pac-10)

Larry Scott, left, and George Kliavkoff

When Larry Scott was after a sustainable Pac 12 media deal, the conference made less than $60 million in media rights that past season. Meanwhile, in 2023, commissioner Goerge Kliavkoff is finding it difficult to put together 10 teams in the conference. Tuesday marked his meeting with the school leaders, where he proposed an Apple streaming media deal.

The proposal was incentivized based on the number of subscribers, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel. After 12 years of exclusivity on ESPN and Fox, the Pac-12 is now the only Power Five league without a media deal through at least 2031.

In 2011, Pac-12 media deal (then Pac-10) was worth $225 million annually. The Big Ten received around $220 million from ABC and ESPN. The Southeastern Conference got $205 million from ESPN and CBS. The Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 received $155 million and $130 million, respectively, from their media deals.

George Kliavkoff has enormous responsibilities to overshadow the Pac-12's last media rights deal. He took on the role as the conference commissioner in 2021 after holding positions at MLB, NBC Universal, Hulu, A&E networks and MGM Resorts International.