Nexstar’s CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference are continuing their team-up –even if some of the teams associated with the group are no longer present
The broadcast network and the collegiate-sports league have extended their current rights deal through the 2030-31 season. Under terms of the pact, the CW will televise 13 regular-season football games next year, during the 2026-27 season, along with regular-season telecasts of 35 men’s basketball games and 15 women’s basketball games. CW will also get to telecast the semifinal and championship games for the new Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament. Pac-12 Enterprises, the broadcast production arm of the conference, will produce all football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball games, totaling 66 events annually.
The original Pac-12 fell apart last year when USC and UCLA, and then others, exited for other groups. Those maneuvers left Oregon State and Washington State as the group’s only members. The new grouping, which launches in 2026, will also feature Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State. Gonzaga will join for sports not tied to football and Texas State will serve as an joins as the eighth football member. Pac-12 has already struck a deal with CBS Sports to show some of its games.
“The Pac-12 has been a key partner in the success of CW Sports, and we are thrilled to solidify our relationship with the conference for an additional five years,” said Brad Schwartz, president of The CW Network, in a statement. “We have experienced firsthand the passion of the Oregon State and Washington State football programs and their dedicated fans and we are eager to introduce an additional seven schools in the new Pac-12 to our nationwide CW Sports audience. We are also excited to bring Pac-12 men’s and women’s basketball to our viewers featuring some of the most dynamic and celebrated collegiate programs in the country.”
Pac-12 has been on CW since the 2024 football season, and will be telecast by the network in 2025. The CW’s most-watched college football game of the year was the matchup between Washington State and Oregon State in Corvallis.
“The Pac-12’s partnership with The CW has been one of mutual growth and transformation, from the development of our Pac-12 Enterprises’ broadcast production business to the significant added value and positive impact to our current and future members via true national reach across 100% of U.S. television households,” said Teresa Gould, the Pac-12 commissioner, in a statement.