The media partners are set, and the 2026 schedule is complete. The inaugural Pac-12 (2.0) football season is down to one missing element: kickoff times.
Will the TV networks load the Saturday lineup with night games, echoing the strategy that frustrated fans of the former version of the conference? Or will they spread the matchups across the three major viewing windows in the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones?
“We haven’t gotten to (that) level of minutiae with our TV partners,” San Diego State athletic director JD Wicker said. “My hope is we’re going to fill all three windows on the West Coast, so we’re going to have 12 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to really allow the East Coast to see us play.”
Saturday tripleheaders spanning 10 hours, all on broadcast or cable television, would offer the eight football-playing schools the exposure they crave in their new existence.
“It’s going to be important for this league to be seen,” Wicker said.
His comments were part of a wide-ranging conversation on ‘Canzano and Wilner: The Podcast’ last week. Wicker addressed issues that are specific to the Aztecs and critical to college sports nationally, including the potential for collective bargaining with players and the merits of a super league.
But the rebuilt conference was at the heart of the conversation given Wicker’s experience with both sides of Pac-12 realignment. The Aztecs were a top expansion target before the legacy Pac-12 imploded in the summer of 2023, and they became a driving force behind the rebuilt edition featuring five Mountain West schools, Gonzaga, Texas State and the two holdovers, Washington State and Oregon State.
For the past 18 months, Wicker has been heavily involved in strategic decisions that produced the unique football schedule, which includes seven conference games and a flex week, and the three-pronged media rights deal with CBS, The CW and USA Network.
During the conversion, he opined on the revenue component of the media agreement — “I’m fine with where the money’s at and where the money goes over the five years that we’re going to be part of this conference” — and the ultra-challenging exposure piece.
After all, the Pac-12 isn’t merely a start-up conference desperate to grow its brand. It’s attempting to grow its brand while facing the same obstacle that affected the legacy version: time zones.
The TV networks set their sports programming lineup from east to west, which places every conference in the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones at a disadvantage with time slots and eyeballs.
“It’s definitely something we talk about,” Wicker said.
“Our new TV deal is going to help us. If we can be on football and basketball at 12 o’clock on the West Coast, 3 o’clock on the East Coast and play through that — all the way to Pac-12 After Dark, that has its own following — that will be really important that we’re seen.
“So much of the previous Pac-12 iteration, and even us in the Mountain West, I don’t know how many times we ended up at 7:30 (Pacific) on CBS Sports Network for football, and that was our only window where we got an opportunity to see and be seen.
“Knowing we’re going to have those other windows is really important.”
The Pac-12 blocked eight weeks for intra-conference matchups in 2026, with seven counting in the standings. With one bye for each team and the potential to shift games to Thursday or Friday, the conference could have just three matchups on many Saturdays in October and November.
That would leave one game for each of the TV partners.
According to the media agreements, USA Network owns the rights to 22 games across the regular season, The CW has 13 and the combination of CBS and CBS Sports Network has 13, as well.
There is no guarantee the networks will program Pac-12 games in the 12 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (Pacific) windows on a regular basis. Both The CW and CBS/CBSSN have other college football commitments, and all three will be mindful of the competition on Fox, NBC and ESPN/ABC.
But tripleheaders are possible. USA Sports, which handles the sports programming for USA Network, owns no other college football inventory and should have flexibility with its lineup of 22 Pac-12 games.
One programming window is expected to be popular with all three networks: the so-called #Pac12AfterDark slot that was an integral part of the conference’s pre-breakup strategy.
The #AfterDark brand is well known across college football, resonating with recruits, fans and media. It also allows the new Pac-12’s best matchups to avoid head-to-head broadcasts with the biggest games in the SEC and Big Ten, which typically conclude by 7:30 p.m. Pacific.
In recent years, Fox has occasionally made use of the 8 p.m. window on its broadcast network. But most Saturdays, the Pac-12 night games likely would face direct power conference competition from two buckets:
Related Articles
Big 12 MBB tournament: Arizona favored; Houston, Kansas and ISU contending WBB power rankings: It’s UCLA and everyone else in the West Big 12 MBB power rankings: Arizona, Texas Tech on top, BYU slips Cal’s financial challenge in ACC revealed by NCAA report NFL combine: Ex-Pac-12 players Fernando Mendoza, David Bailey shine— Cal and Stanford home games that air on ESPN as part of the network’s ACC coverage
— BYU, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State home games on ESPN that are part of its Big 12 coverage
In the 2025 season, those ESPN broadcasts (e.g., TCU-BYU, Arizona State-Utah, Duke-Cal and Florida State-Stanford) typically generated just 1 million to 1.5 million viewers. And there have been a few Saturdays in the past two years in which ESPN simply didn’t broadcast any college football at 7:30 p.m.
If one of the Pac-12’s network partners slots Oregon State-Washington State (Oct. 17) or Boise State-San Diego State (Nov. 21) in the night window, it should more than hold its own.
Especially if the teams are good.
“We’ve got to be successful — that’s the other piece of it,” Wicker said. “You have to be successful. You have to create interest within your community so the rest of the country sees that excitement and that interest, as well.”
*** Previously published Hotline articles on sports media:
— Duke v Michigan: ESPN wants more non-conference game in February — College football ratings soared: Thank the change in Nielsen’s measuring process — The CFP rankings shows, ESPN’s insurgents and the need for credibility — Fox, CBS should flip windows to help the Big Ten’s West Coast teams — Brett Yormark’s “GameDay” pursuit and the Big 12’s media strategy — Friday night football is a ratings success; are doubleheaders next? — How the Week 5 games highlight CBS’ big whiff with the SEC — Dave Portnoy and Ohio State is a dangerous game for Fox — The Big 12’s social media game is clever, proactive and undaunted — Low ratings, NFL conflicts make it clear: CFP calendar needs to change — Thanksgiving Eve is an open broadcast window the Big 12, Pac-12 should exploit
*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to [email protected] or call 408-920-5716
*** Follow me on the social media platform X: @WilnerHotline
Hence then, the article about on media the merits of pac 12 saturday tripleheaders it s important for this league to be seen was published today ( ) and is available on mercury news ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( On media: The merits of Pac-12 Saturday tripleheaders (“It’s important for this league to be seen”) )
Also on site :
- ‘Modern Family’ Star Reveals Why He Changed His Mind About Filming a Spinoff
- Dunkin’s At Home Line Expands With New Espresso Options
- 1906 Hotel That Survived a Historic Earthquake Still Welcomes Guests