Pac-12 Network Facts, Stats, And Details

Jon Wilner has been relating the details about the Pac-12 Network, and he should get the last word on the bare bones of the new conference.

First of all, no DirecTV deal yet. I imagine 90% of you have exited your browsers now.

The Big Ten Network had 20 to 30 million members who were capable of watching the channel at launch point. The Pac-12 Network will have 48 million. That is an impressive number considering the relative population of the West Coast to the rest of the country, and shows how far the Pac-12 had to reach out to the rest of the country to get this high a household carriage based on their TV deals.

None of the conference members will have to worry about paying for the network. The network is self-sustaining thanks to the massive $3 billion deal the conference negotiated with ESPN and FOX, as they utilized most of those start-up costs to put together the infrastructure of a Pac-12 Network together. The profits that should be accumulated from the conference network and the current TV contract should benefit all networks.

There will be 850 live events on the Pac-12 Network this year. The bulk of the fall schedule will be taken up with football, which will show 35 games and plenty of re-airings and rewinds. But there will also be 185 other events being shown this fall, including women's volleyball, men's water polo, men's and women's soccer and field hockey (along with the Cross Country Championships). You can expect a larger lineup in the winter when half of the conference's basketball and most of the women's basketball contests are distributed on the network, and there should be plenty of baseball and softball telecasts during springtime along with other Olympic sports like track and field, swimming, tennis, rowing and women's water polo.

All major partners (Bright House, Comcast, Cox, Time Warner) will provide both national and regional feeds in-market (the dominant Pac-12 Markets of the West Coast). It is uncertain what will happen out-of-market; it'll probably depend on your carrier. Note: Cox is not providing the Pac-12 Network anywhere outside the regional markets.

The Pac-12 Network will be asking for a 90 cents in-market subscriber fee, which is similar to the rate the Big Ten puts out for its members. Out-of-market fee is not yet known.

A lot has to be worked out and is being worked out. Settle people.