Fox Sports continues to
expand its college sports roster, acquiring the rights to televise the new
Pacific 12 Conference football championship game later this year.
The one year will cost Fox
$25 million, with $14.5 million going to air the championship game and $10.5 million
paying for rights to air additional Pac12 football and basketball games on
Fox Sports Net, sources said. The conference expanded to 12 teams with the
addition of Colorado and Utah.
The championship game is
tentatively scheduled for Dec. 3.
Last year, Fox acquired the
rights to televise the new Big Ten championship game. Fox is partners with the
Big Ten Conference in the Big Ten Network.
The Pac12 has said it wants
to launch a network of its own in 2012. Potential partners on a network include
Fox, ESPN and Comcast.
"Fox has enjoyed a
successful and mutually beneficial relationship with the Pac-10 for many
years," Fox Sports President Eric Shanks said in a statement. "It's
an honor to have the first-ever Pac-12 championship football game on Fox and
available to the widest possible audience. We're excited to take our
relationship with the Pac-12 to an entirely new level."
"This is an historic
time for the conference as we expand to the Pac-12 next season and we are
thrilled to be working with FOX Sports and their award-winning production
team," Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott said. "Fox has demonstrated
its ability to drive new innovation into sports broadcasting and we look
forward to seeing how they will help us take our Championship Game to the next
level of interactive entertainment for our fans."
SportsBusiness Journal first reported financial aspects of the deal.
