Pac-12 Network, DirecTV repelling each other; international YouTube deal inked

If you love watching Pac-12 football more than anything, the writing is on the wall: It's time for you to walk away from DirecTV. There is no deal forthcoming anytime soon.

"There is no latest, unfortunately. It looks very unlikely under the present ownership of DirecTV that they're going to carry us," Scott during Wednesday's Pac-12 football media day at Paramount Studios.

AT&T announced in May its intention to purchase DirecTV in a $48.5-billion deal that is not yet finalized.

"I'm much more hopeful that when AT&T buys DirecTV we'll have different kinds of discussions and outcomes," Scott said.

Neither the Pac-12 Networks nor DirecTV show any signs of moving toward each other.  This is tough news, especially on the heels of the news that the SEC Networks is swiftly moving toward scooping in and securing a very profitable deal with DirecTV. This should ensure that the SEC Networks is immediately one of the most popular sporting networks in the country weeks before launch.

The Pac-12 will have to settle for minor victories. They have now gained nationwide service on Time Warner and Cox, securing their foothold in 60 million households in the United States. Right now Scott seems to be banking on AT&T securing DirecTV (AT&T's teleco cable U-Verse does provide the Pac-12 Network).

And they have struck gold with an international deal with YouTube that will allow for international streaming on a subscription basis. Time to hit the international recruiting trails!

Pac-12 Networks becomes the first live streaming 24x7 subscription sports channel on YouTube. The new channel will distribute the Pac-12 Network feed as well as Video On Demand content to 27 countries at launch, expanding to additional countries over time.

“Securing international distribution has been a top priority for us, especially knowing that we have so many alumni and a growing fan base outside of the United States,” Pac-12 Networks President Lydia Murphy-Stephans said. “YouTube is synonymous with innovation and instantly provides us with incredible reach to serve our fans and universities. We are very excited about this new channel.”

Pac-12 Networks will stream 850 live events this year, including 35 football games, 150 men’s basketball games and hundreds of Olympic sports events that are especially popular abroad. In addition, Pac-12 Networks will feature hundreds of hours of studio shows, exclusive content and original programming to provide fans with the inside access and in depth coverage of every Pac-12 game that they can’t find anywhere else.

"We love seeing Pac-12 Networks take advantage of the huge opportunity to connect with fans around the world through YouTube," YouTube Global Head of Partnerships Claude Ruibal said.

The international deal is a good one. It allows fanbases from all over the world (in Europe and in Asia and in Mexico) stay in touch with their teams without having to worry about losing track of them when overseas. The Pac-12 is full of international alumni (particularly from the California schools), so broadening the network on a global scale was of paramount importance.

The only big issue is that YouTube is blocked in China. Considering how big an emphasis Scott is putting on the behemoth in the Far East, the Pac-12 will have to find another way to get onto the computers of 1.357 billion Chinese people.