Scott wants Pac-16 for 2016
By osbeaver
Larry Scott made waves when he nearly pulled off the Pac-16 last June. The entire college football landscape was nearly drastically altered and the beginning of the superconference era of college football nearly started. While Scott for the time being missed out on Texas and Oklahoma there are some good reasons Scott may still be able to lure these teams this decade.
The formation of the Pac-12 network and its impact once coupled with the amazing 3 billion MegaTV deal is at the heart of it. Scott recently stated that he thinks the impetus for the next round of realignment will be monetary. The 3 billion deal averages to about 21 million per team a year in the Pac-12. Impressive but with the Longhorn network up and running we must go further. That is where the Pac-12 and digital networks will come in. Scott made sure to hold on to premier content for this network and it will pay off handsomely for the conference.
Besides having maximum exposure from two TV partners in ESPN and Fox and every football and basketball game broadcasted, the Pac-12 network will allow for yet another major revenue stream. It is estimated that the final number may be 400 million a year for the conference when all is said and done or 33.33 million per team. WOW! A&M held off before and is only guaranteed 20 million as is Oklahoma. Since Scott was wise and put in terms for increases to the Pac-12 TV deal if further expansion took place, you have to imagine that the total figure could be very near 40 million per team if Scott were to form a Pac-16 in another 5-7 years. And that is about the timeline we should expect another aggressive attempt because Scott said he believes the 2nd half of the current decade WILL see another round of important moves. Even a Pac-16 by 2016 could be within his reach.
Scott’s plans include Asia and TV Everywhere where programming will be available from any smart device. Today we learned that he is seriously considering including Google and Apple in his media plans. Scott is a major breath of fresh air for a conference that had the tradition but was poorly underselling itself before he arrived. The Pac-12 is now seen as the biggest innovator and it is clear the future will be full of bold plans, aggressive marketing and premier exposure for the conference.