In the wake of the collapse and rebuilding of the Pac-12 over the course of this past year, media coverage rights have changed for Beaver football.
This fall, fans and viewers of Beaver football will be treated to a broadcast that can be found on the CW Network to show OSU’s home season games for the 2024/2025 season, with exception for the rivalry game against the University of Oregon, which was televised on FOX.
Away games will be televised between CBS and FOX. Details on the lucrative nature of media finance deals could not be disclosed.
Though the fall of the Pac-12 conference may have been chaotic for many fans, to those with previously restricted access, Saturday night football is now widely available under the new broadcast deals.
According to an email from Scott Barnes, OSU’s Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, “the Pac-12 network was in roughly 20-25% of households. The CW will reach 95-100% of households.”
This deal isn’t only reserved for football, but extends to all athletic contests hosted at home, with events being televised or streamed, according to Barnes.
Conference alignment may have changed in the last year, but the Beaver athletics department persists.
According to Barnes, it appears that OSU continues to pursue future opportunities for Beaver athletics.
“Conference alignment will obviously inform what our media agreements look like moving forward. We will continue to pursue media rights for 2025 and beyond in conjunction with conference alignment strategies,” Barnes said.
The deconstruction of the Pac-12 happening around the completion of Reser Stadium’s renovation has left many pondering the nature of the stadium’s payment plan.
“Our annual debt service is fixed and relatively low thanks to tremendous fundraising efforts,” Barnes said. “One of the goals for the Completing Reser Stadium project was to create new revenue streams that generated net revenue beyond the annual payments.”
“This, coupled with low debt service has created the intended outcome of new net revenue to support all 17 sports programs,” Barnes said.
The Mountain West and the Pac-12 did not reach an agreement to extend their agreement beyond the 2024 season due to issues partially stemming from financial reasons, according to ESPN.