Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff: media rights deal coming in “near future”

© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

A media rights deal for the Pac-12 was not announced at Pac-12 Football Media Day today as expected based on reports earlier this week.

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However, commissioner George Kliavkoff said that a media rights deal is coming in the “near future,” but didn’t give a clear timeline.

#Pac12FB commissioner George Kliavkoff says a media rights deal is coming in the “near future,” and the conference will only consider expansion when the deal is negotiated. pic.twitter.com/L00RUIq02u

— Burn City Sports (@BurnCitySports) July 21, 2023

He added that the conference will announce a media deal, then sign a grant of rights, which is already agreed upon, and then the conference will consider expansion.

The Pac-12’s deal expires in 2024, and the conference announced that it was looking to negotiate a new deal all the way back on July 5, 2022. The announcement came only a week after UCLA and USC announced they were moving to the Big 10.

There may be good news on the horizon, as Kliavkoff said, “The longer we wait for a media deal, the better our options get.”

#Pac12 George Kliavkoff: "The longer we wait for a media deal, the better our options get."

— Burn City Sports (@BurnCitySports) July 21, 2023

Then, he made a very interesting statement when he said that they’re not announcing a media deal today on purpose today because they want the day to be focused on football.

Kliavkoff says they're not announcing a media deal today on purpose because they want today to be focused on football. #Pac12FB

— Burn City Sports (@BurnCitySports) July 21, 2023

This left some to speculate that a deal was already agreed on. However, Kliavkoff clarified and said it doesn’t mean that in this great back and forth:

Good back and forth here. Kliavkoff expands further on why he said a deal won’t be announced today and wants to focus on football. Said it doesn’t mean that a deal is already done #Pac12FB pic.twitter.com/pcatrzxrLU

— Burn City Sports (@BurnCitySports) July 21, 2023

Read more about the looming deal here:

No Pac-12 TV deal announcement coming at Friday’s Media Day

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Brendan Mau is a college sports insider and general assignment reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on Twitter via @Brendan_Mau