Social media reacts to reported Pac-12 streaming deal with Apple TV
After more than a year of negotiating and seeking a media rights deal that would see the remaining Pac-12 schools get as much revenue as some of the competing conferences in the nation, commissioner George Kliavkoff finally presented some numbers to his constituents on Tuesday afternoon.
The reception may not have been what he had hoped.
Per a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Kliavkoff presented the Pac-12 presidents and athletic directors with a primary streaming deal with Apple TV on Tuesday. The deal would have incentivized tiers for league members if certain subscription numbers were met for Apple, giving the deal a certain amount of upside, Thamel reports.
There is an expectation that the Pac-12 presidents will once again meet in the coming days to further discuss the deal, but no decisions have been made public at this time.
As anticipated, fans of the Pac-12 and college football in general chimed in via social media to comment on the deal, many of whom took a chance to declare a time of death for the conference.
Will the lackluster numbers result in more defections for the conference that is trying — and apparently failing — to stay afloat? Time will tell. For now, here are some of the best reactions on social media to the new deal numbers that are being floated.
The new Pac-12 TV deal is just having the mascots do those TikTok livestreams where they have to say “gang gang ice cream so good” for money
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) August 1, 2023
You can watch the World Series of Darts & cornhole on ESPN but the best the Pac-12 can do is a streaming only plan that's one step above a Twitch channel. What exactly is there to consider? Multiple Pac-12 ADs told me this winter/spring streaming only was not acceptable.
— James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) August 1, 2023
Larry Scott sold the schools on the Pac-12 Network based on how much revenue they could hit based on low/medium/high subscriber projections.
It turned out to be below low.
Hard to imagine the schools making another risky bet on a newish platform.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) August 1, 2023
The PAC12 at the end of their meeting today.#Pac12 pic.twitter.com/jxOw19w31x
— Cougar Gang (@TheCougarGang) August 1, 2023
Oregon and Washington escaping the PAC-12 by any means necessary pic.twitter.com/5IUahI85cy
— Jackson Payne (@jackson5payne) July 26, 2023
The biggest problem with the Pac-12 signing a deal with Apple is that while the die hard Pac-12 fans will subscribe to watch the games, casual fans around the country will not (even casual Pac-12 fans).
The PAC-12 brands will continue to die due to lack of exposure.
— WestCoastCFB (@WestCoastCFB) August 1, 2023
Oregon State when they finally win the Pac 12 by narrowly defeating UNLV in 2028 pic.twitter.com/iQEfp17ETB
— Dustin Leber ➐ (@Dustin_Leber) July 27, 2023
The Pac-12 trying to keep schools in the conference. pic.twitter.com/Rr2RFe01Lw
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) July 27, 2023
Sarah McLachlan will be asking you to sponsor a PAC-12 team by the time this deal is done. https://t.co/i1bviasdgS
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) August 1, 2023
George Kliavkoff at the Pac-12 meeting today pic.twitter.com/8ujP1vSyv4
— Derek Duke (@DerekDuke25) August 1, 2023
Sources: As part of the proposed Pac-12 Apple TV deal, @TedLasso will be the head coach for 1 game per year for every school.
These games would be filmed and released on the streaming service in a Hard Knocks style show. pic.twitter.com/XNrbaY5SGa
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) August 1, 2023
The screen immediately after the game is over on Pac-12 Network pic.twitter.com/9u3oBBourR
— Geaux Ducks (@GeauxDuck) August 1, 2023
The Pac-12 situation is interesting because you’ve got a bunch of schools unhappy with their revenues from the first time they tried selling subscriptions now mulling whether they should hitch their wagon to selling subscriptions.
— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) August 1, 2023
Pac 12 Commissioner when asked about the media deal: pic.twitter.com/OIIcKqzG7s
— Arrogant Nation✌🏻 (@FightOnRusty) July 27, 2023
I choose to believe that this is the moment when the PAC 12 died pic.twitter.com/jOXNRex22E
— Hayden (@oldmaxhall) July 26, 2023
Kliavkoff pitching the "incentive-based" PAC12 Apple streaming media rights deal@pac12 | @Kliavkoff | @Big12Conference pic.twitter.com/gmerQt5zI7
— Jeremiah Hale (@jeremiah__hale) August 1, 2023
This video about to play at the end of every Pac12 game pic.twitter.com/YoQL7l9ZXv
— PUDDLES (@scoduckz) July 31, 2023