As the Pac-12 Football TV schedule for 2012 is set to be announced in the upcoming weeks, I decided to take a look back at last year and check out how much better the TV schedule would have looked if the new deal went into place last year. I don't really take into account things like which TV network would draft first in a regular week; that's for tomorrow's projections.
Keep in mind the stipulations under the new Pac-12 TV deal.
- 2 games on ABC as opposed to 9 in the previous deal
- 20 games on ESPN (with up to 4 on ESPNU, up to 4 on Thursday, up to 4 on Friday, and the majority of ESPN/ESPN2 games starting with a 10 PM kickoff).
- 8 regular season games on FOX (four for primetime) as opposed to zero in 2011.
- 14 regular season games on F/X as opposed to three in 2011 (imagine one game a week through the year, with one doubleheader)
- No games on FSN/Versus as opposed to 21 in 2011.
- 35 games on the Pac-12 Network as opposed to zero in 2011 because no Pac-12 network existed.
Do not trust my scheduling abilities. I tried to make sure there was one game playing in each of the three possible Pac-12 Network slots (early afternoon, late afternoon, evening) to assure each game was nationally televised on the network. I aimed to make it look as attractive as possible, although I can imagine things being a little bit muckier in the regular process.
Also, I did not try to favor schools for regular national telecasts, but went with the best possible matchups. This isn't the way it would work with the new Pac-12 Network, but this is a pretty good representation of how things would have gone.
Here's a sample of how much better things are going to be for Pac-12 football fans.
Week 1 under old Pac-12 TV deal
Thursday, September 1
Montana State at Utah, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, KJZZ (local Utah network)
Saturday, September 3
Minnesota at USC, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, ABC
San Jose State at Stanford, 2 PM PT/5 PM ET, CSN Bay Area (local Bay Area network)
Fresno State vs. California (Candlestick Park), 4 PM PT/7 PM ET, CSN California (local Bay Area network)
Eastern Washington at Washington, 4 PM/7 PM ET, Root NW (local Seattle network)
Northern Arizona at Arizona, 7 PM PT/10 PM ET, AZ Wildcats Net (local Arizona network)
UC Davis at Arizona State, 7 PM PT/10 PM ET, Fox Sports Arizona (local Arizona network)
Sacramento State at Oregon State, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, No telecast
Idaho State at Washington State, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, No telecast
Note: UCLA at Houston (Conference USA), Colorado at Hawaii (WAC), and LSU/Oregon are not part of the Pac-12 contract because they're hosted on opposing conference sites or neutral sites. They were all nationally televised.
Results: 1 Pac-12 national telecast, six Pac-12 regional telecasts, two non-telecasts.
Week 1 under new Pac-12 TV deal
Thursday, September 1
Montana State at Utah, 4 PM PT/7 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Pac-12 Mountain)
UC Davis at Arizona State, 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Pac-12 Arizona)
Friday, September 2
Idaho State at Washington State, 6 PM PT/9 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Pac-12 Washington)
Saturday, September 3
Minnesota at USC, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FX
San Jose State at Stanford, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, ESPNU
Fresno State vs. Cal (Candlestick), 4 PM PT/7 PM ET, ESPNU
Sacramento State at Oregon State, noon PT/3 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Pac-12 Oregon)
Eastern Washington at Washington, 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Pac-12 Washington)
Northern Arizona at Arizona, 7 PM PT/10 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Pac-12 Arizona)
Results: Everything is a national telecast! 1 FX, 2 ESPN, 4 Pac-12 Network games. You'll notice because of the plethora of games this particular week, three contests have been moved to earlier in the week. Expect this to be a running trend the first week of the season for the Pac-12 going forward.
Week 2 under old Pac-12 TV deal
Friday, September 9
Missouri at Arizona State, 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET, ESPN
Saturday, September 10
Nevada at Oregon, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FX
Hawaii at Washington, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, Root NW
Utah at USC, 4:30 PM PT/7:30 PM ET, Versus
San Jose State at UCLA, 7 PM/10 PM ET, Prime Ticket
California at Colorado, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FCS Pacific/CSN California
UNLV at Washington State, 2 PM PT/5 PM ET, No telecast
Note: Stanford at Duke (ACC), Oregon State at Wisconsin (Big Ten), and Arizona at Oklahoma State (Big 12) are not part of the Pac-12 contract because they're hosted on opposing conference sites. They were all nationally televised.
Results: 3 national telecasts, 3 regional telecasts, 1 no telecast
Week 2 under new Pac-12 TV deal
Friday, September 9
Missouri at Arizona State, 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET, ESPN
Saturday, September 10
Utah at USC, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, FOX
Nevada at Oregon, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FX
Hawaii at Washington, 7:15 PM PT/10:15 PM ET, ESPNU
California at Colorado, 12 PM PT/3 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Mountain/Northern California)
UNLV at Washington State 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Washington)
San Jose State at UCLA, 7 PM PT/10 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Los Angeles)
Results: Seven national telecasts, 1 FOX, 1 F/X, 2 on ESPN Family, 3 on Pac-12 Network
Week 3 under old Pac-12 TV deal
Saturday, September 17
Texas at UCLA, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, ABC
Colorado State vs. Colorado in Denver, 10:30 AM/1:30 PM ET, FSN
Syracuse at USC, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, FX
Stanford at Arizona, 7:45 PM PT/10:45 PM ET, ESPN
Missouri State at Oregon, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, Oregon Sports Net
Presbyterian at California, not televised
Note: The remaining four conference games were in road sites and not under Pac-12 TV contracts, although all received some form of national distribution (BTN, ESPN2, ABC/ESPN, MTN).
Results: Four nationally televised games (although split by national windows as ABC aired another game at the same time), one regional telecast, one non-broadcast.
Week 3 under new Pac-12 TV deal
Saturday, September 17
Texas at UCLA, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FOX
Syracuse at USC, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, FX
Stanford at Arizona, 7:45 PM PT/10:45 PM ET, ESPN
Colorado State vs. Colorado in Denver, 11 AM PT/2 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Mountain)
Missouri State at Oregon, 2:30 PM PT/5:30 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Oregon)
Presbyterian at California, 6 PM PT/9 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (California)
Results: Six nationally televised games, 1 FOX, 1 FX, 1 ESPN, 3 Pac-12 Network
Week 4 under old Pac-12 TV deal
Saturday, September 24
Cal at Washington, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FSN
Oregon at Arizona, 7:15 PM PT/10:15 PM ET, ESPN/ESPN2
USC at Arizona State, 7:15 PM PT/10:15 PM ET, ESPN/ESPN2
UCLA at Oregon State, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FSN Regional
Note: Colorado at Ohio State under Big Ten contract
Results: 3 national telecasts, 1 regional telecasts
Week 4 under new Pac-12 TV deal
Saturday, September 24
Oregon at Arizona, 7:15 PM PT/10:15 PM ET, ESPN/ESPN2
USC at Arizona State, 7:15 PM PT/10:15 PM ET, ESPN/ESPN2
Cal at Washington, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FX
UCLA at Oregon State, 4 PM PT/7 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Oregon/Los Angeles)
Results: 4 national telecasts, 2 ESPN, 1 F/X, 1 Pac-12 Network
Week 5 under old Pac-12 TV deal
Saturday, October 1
Arizona at USC, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FSN
Washington at Utah, 4 PM PT/7 PM ET, FSN
UCLA at Stanford, 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET, FSN
Washington State at Colorado, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FCS Pacific
Oregon State at Arizona State, 7 PM PT/10 PM ET, FSN AZ
Results: 3 national telecasts, 2 regional
Week 5 under new Pac-12 TV deal
Saturday, October 1
UCLA at Stanford, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, FOX
Colorado at Washington State, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FX
Oregon State at Arizona State, 7:15 PM PT/10:15 PM ET, ESPN
Arizona at USC, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Arizona/Southern California)
Washington at Utah, 4 PM PT/7 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Washington/Mountain)
Results: 5 national telecasts (1 FOX, 1 F/X, 1 ESPN, 2 Pac-12 Network)
Week 6 under old Pac-12 TV deal
Thursday, October 6
California at Oregon, 6 PM PT/9 PM ET, ESPN
Saturday, October 8
Arizona State at Utah, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FSN
Colorado at Stanford, 4:30 PM PT/7:30 PM ET, Versus
Washington State at UCLA, 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET, FSN
Arizona at Oregon State, not televised
Results: 4 national telecasts if you count Versus.
Week 6 under new Pac-12 TV deal
Thursday, October 6
California at Oregon, 6 PM PT/9 PM ET, ESPN
Saturday, October 8
Arizona State at Utah, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FOX
Arizona at Oregon State, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Seattle/Arizona)
Colorado at Stanford, 4 PM PT/7 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Northern California/Mountain)
Washington State at UCLA, 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Washington/LA)
Results: 5 national telecasts, 1 ESPN, 1 FOX, 3 Pac-12 Network
Week 7 under old Pac-12 TV deal
Thursday, October 13
USC at California, 6 PM PT/9 PM ET, ESPN
Saturday, October 15
BYU at Oregon State, 1 PM PT/4 PM ET, FCS
Colorado at Washington, 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM ET, Root Sports
Stanford at Washington State, 4:30 PM PT/7:30 PM ET, Versus
Arizona State at Oregon, 7:15 PM PT/10:15 PM ET, ESPN
Results: 3 national telecasts, 2 regional.
Week 7 under new Pac-12 TV deal
Thursday, October 13
USC at California, 6 PM PT/9 PM ET, ESPN
Saturday, October 15
Arizona State at Oregon, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, FOX
Stanford at Washington State, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FX
Colorado at Washington, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Mountain/Washington)
BYU at Oregon State, 7:15 PM PT/10:15 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Oregon)\
Results: 1 ESPN, 1 FOX, 1 F/X, 2 Pac-12 Network
Week 8 under old Pac-12 TV deal
Thursday, October 20
UCLA at Arizona, 6 PM PT/9 PM ET, ESPN
Saturday, October 22
Washington at Stanford, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, ABC
Oregon at Colorado, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FSN
Oregon State vs. Washington State (Seattle), 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET, FSN
Utah at California, 4 PM PT/7 PM ET, CSN Bay Area
Results: 4 national/semi-national telecasts.
Week 8 under new Pac-12 TV deal
Thursday, October 20
UCLA at Arizona, 6 PM PT/9 PM ET, ESPN
Saturday, October 22
Oregon at Colorado, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FX
Washington at Stanford, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, FX
Utah at California, 4 PM PT/7 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Northern California/Mountain)
Oregon State vs. Washington State (Seattle), 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Oregon/Washington)
Results: 1 ESPN, 2 FX, 2 Pac-12 Network
Week 9 under old Pac-12 TV deal
Saturday, October 29
Stanford at USC, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, ABC
Washington State at Oregon noon PT/3 PM PT, FSN
Arizona at Washington 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET, FSN
Colorado at Arizona State, 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM ET, FSN AZ/RS Rocky
Oregon State at Utah, 4 PM PT/7 PM ET, KJZZ/Root NW
California at UCLA, 4 PM PT/7 PM PT, Prime Ticket
Results: 3 national telecasts, 3 regional telecasts
Week 9 under new Pac-12 TV deal
Friday, October 28
Arizona at Washington, 6 PM PT/9 PM ET, ESPN
Saturday, October 29
Stanford at USC, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, ABC
Washington State at Oregon 4 PM PT/7 PM PT, FX
Oregon State at Utah, noon PT/3:00 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Oregon/Mountain)
California at UCLA, 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM PT, Pac-12 Network (Northern California/Los Angeles)
Colorado at Arizona State, 7:00 PM PT/10:00 PM ET, Pac-12 Network (Arizona/Mountain)
Results: 1 ESPN, 1 ABC, 1 F/X, 3 Pac-12 Network
Week 10 under old Pac-12 TV deal
Friday, November 4
USC at Colorado, 6 PM PT/9 PM ET, ESPN2
Saturday, November 5
Stanford at Oregon State, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, ABC
Arizona State at UCLA, 4:30 PM PT/7:30 PM ET, Versus
Oregon at Washington, 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET, FSN
Arizona at Colorado, 11:30 AM PT/2:30 PM PT, FCS
Oregon State at California, 3:30 PM PM/6:30 PM ET, CSN CA/RSNW
Results: 4 national/semi-national telecasts, 2 regional
Week 10 under new Pac-12 TV deal
Friday, November 4
USC at Colorado, 6 PM PT/9 PM ET, ESPN2
Saturday, November 5
Arizona State at UCLA, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FOX
Stanford at Oregon State, 4:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FX
Oregon at Washington, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, P12N (Oregon/Washington)
Oregon State at California, 4 PM PM/7 PM ET, P12N (Oregon/Northern California)
Utah at Arizona, 7:30 AM PT/10:30 PM PT, P12N (Arizona/Mountain)
Results: 1 ESPN, 1 FOX, 1 F/X, 3 Pac-12 Network
Week 11 under old Pac-12 TV deal
Saturday, November 12
Washington at USC, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FSN
Oregon at Stanford, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, ABC
Arizona State at Washington State, 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET, Versus
Arizona at Colorado, 11:30 AM PT/2:30 PM ET, FCS
Oregon State at California, 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM ET, CSN California/RSNW
UCLA at Utah, 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM ET, Prime Ticket/KJZZ
Results: 3 national/semi-national telecasts, 3 regional telecasts
Week 11 under new Pac-12 TV deal
Saturday, November 12
Arizona State at Washington State,12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FX
Oregon State at California, 4 PM PT/7 PM ET, FX
Oregon at Stanford, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, FOX
Washington at USC, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, P12N (Washington/LA)
UCLA at Utah, 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM ET, P12N (LA/Mountain)
Arizona at Colorado, 7 PM PT/10 PM ET, P12N (Arizona/Mountain)
Results: 2 F/X, 1 FOX, 3 Pac-12 Network
Week 12 under old Pac-12 TV deal
Saturday, November 19
Colorado at UCLA, 4:30 PM PT/7:30 PM ET, Versus
USC at Oregon, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, ABC
California at Stanford, 7:15 PM PT/10:15 PM ET, ESPN
Washington at Oregon State, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, Root NW
Utah at Washington State, 2 PM PT/5 PM ET, KJZZ
Arizona at Arizona State, 6:30 PM PT/9:30 PM ET, FS Arizona
Results: 3 national telecasts, 3 regional telecasts
Week 12 under new Pac-12 TV deal
Saturday, November 19
Arizona at Arizona State, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FX
USC at Oregon, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, ABC
California at Stanford, 7:15 PM PT/10:15 PM ET, ESPN
Utah at Washington State, noon PT/3 PM ET, P12N (Mountain/Washington)
Washington at Oregon State, 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM ET, P12N (Oregon/Washington)
Colorado at UCLA, 7 PM PT/10 PM ET, P12N (Mountain/LA)
Results: 1 ABC, 1 F/X, 1 ESPN, 3 Pac-12 Networks
Week 13 under old Pac-12 TV deal
Friday, November 25
Colorado at Utah, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FSN
California at Arizona State, 7:15 PM PT/10:15 PM ET, ESPN
Saturday, November 26
Oregon State at Oregon, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, ABC
Washington at Washington State, 4:30 PM PT/7:30 PM ET, Versus
Notre Dame at Stanford, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, ABC/ESPN/ESPN2
UCLA at USC, 7 PM PT/10 PM ET, FSN
ULL at Arizona, not televised
Results: 6 national/semi-national telecasts
Week 13 under new Pac-12 TV deal
Friday, November 25
Colorado at Utah, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, P12N (Mountain)
California at Arizona State, 7:15 PM PT/10:15 PM ET, ESPN
Saturday, November 26
Oregon State at Oregon, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET, FOX
Notre Dame at Stanford, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, ESPN
UCLA at USC, noon/3:00 PM ET, P12N (LA)
Washington at Washington State, 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM ET, P12N (Washington)
ULL at Arizona, 7 PM PT/10 PM ET, P12N (Arizona)
Results: 2 ESPN, 1 FOX, 4 Pac-12 Network
Week 14 under old and new Pac-12 TV deal
Friday, December 2
Pac-12 Championship, 5 PM PT/8 PM ET, FOX