Pac-12 Network reportedly testing on DirecTV on channel 612. Is a deal coming?

The long national nightmare might be coming to an end for the Pac-12 Network. DirecTV might soon carry the Pac-12 Network. According to DBSTalk, the network is currently being tested on channel 612 in both standard and high definition formats. These tests took place on the DISH Network before DISH and Pac-12 Network signed their own deal a few years back. DirecTV might be headed down the same road.

Pac-12 Network is in testing on DirecTV channel 612. Unclear about what tier it will be carried on. BTN is on 610 and SECN is on 611.

— Frank the Tank (@frankthetank111) August 26, 2015

Jon Wilner wrote in the offseason about how important it was for AT&T to acquire DirecTV to ensure future Pac-12 carriage. DirecTV would not budge on the subscription fees the Pac-12 were asking for, so neither side could reach a deal, staying deadlocked in essential cold war for the three years the conference network has existed. The Pac-12 was willing to play the long game and wait for the right dominoes to fall.

The AT&T deal was the tipping point. AT&T already has an existing relationship with the Pac-12 Networks (they made a deal for the network to be carried on their U-Verse package), so it seems like that influence might have moved things in a favorable direction.

It remains unclear which tier the Pac-12 Network would be on the DirecTV package if a deal were to be made. At channel 612, the Pac-12 Network would be situated next to the other major college networks in the Big Ten Network (channel 610) and SEC Network (channel 611), which are both contained in the XTRA, Ultimate and Premier packages of the network. It would be ideal if the Pac-12 could get similar treatment.