A wider swath of Southern California "will be able to watch the Pac-12 Networks" after the conference on Thursday announced it "had reached a deal" with Frontier Communications to carry the stations, according to Ben Bolch of the L.A. TIMES. Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said that the "arrangement will net the conference nearly 500,000 new subscribers." However, the conference "has made no progress in its stalemate with DirecTV." Scott said, “Frontier is a major add for our Southern California fans. We will keep knocking on the door and pushing as hard as we can [with DirecTV]." The conference also "hopes to reach a deal with Charter, the other remaining holdout among major carriers." Meanwhile, Scott announced "three social media initiatives that would increase access to conference games." The Pac-12 "will stream at least 150 games involving the traditional Olympics sports on Twitter." On Facebook, the conference "will provide behind-the-scenes images and game-day content related to its 35 football broadcasts" on Pac-12 Networks. On YouTube, the conference "will combine all its news feeds into one platform to provide easier access to fans" (L.A. TIMES, 7/15). In L.A., Alex Schiffer notes the deal with Twitter "covers school-produced Olympic sporting events such as soccer, baseball, volleyball, gymnastics, swimming and diving." Such sports "usually don't bring in the same level of revenue for a school as football or men’s basketball." Games "will still be available to watch live on university athletic sites and pac-12.com" (L.A. TIMES, 7/15).
