How to read a college sports media rights rumor

Good morning, and thanks for your continued support of Extra Points.

Later this afternoon, I’m going to hop on a flight to São Paulo, Brazil, where I’ll spend the next ten days. We have a few guest contributors lined up to post while I’m gone, and I imagine I’ll probably write at least a few times, but I will probably be slower to respond to your emails or any major breaking news until I get back to the United States.

There’s one thing I did want to get out the door before I fly to the Southern Hemisphere for a little bit.

There’s been a lot of coverage on the Pac-12’s struggle to secure a new media rights deal, and how that might potentially impact the Big 12, or other leagues. This story, from CBS, is the most recent, but variations of this story have been written all over the internet over the last several months.

It can be difficult to figure out what to make of these stories, since seemingly conflicting information from the Pac-12, Big 12, or “industry sources” can be published within hours of each other.

I’ve been writing about conference realignment pretty extensively over my sportswriting career, and have found myself digging more and more into the nuts and bolts of media rights valuations and broadcast contracts since I started Extra Points. I’m not going to sit here and say that I know exactly what is going to happen with the Pac-12, but I do feel that I know enough to potentially help you, a non-college sports industry professional, better understand how to read these sorts of stories, and make better decisions about what, and who, to believe.

Let’s start by asking some questions. What sort of people actually know what is going on with a conference media negotiation?

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