While there is no progress with DirecTV, the Pac-12 Nets might also face some issues with AT&T U-VerseGETTY IMAGES
Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott yesterday at the conference's media day event in Hollywood said that he is "not expecting" any changes to the impasse in negotiations with DirecTV, according to Jon Wilner of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. But Scott also said that he "'couldn't be more delighted' with the strategic position" of the Pac-12 Nets, given the "potential interest of Amazon, Google, etc., in acquiring sports rights and the conference's 100% ownership of the networks." On the Pac-12 Nets revenue, Scott said, "I would describe us, midway through these agreements, as in a period of stability where you won't see revenue changes up or down" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 7/26). AWFUL ANNOUNCING's Andrew Bucholtz wrote there not only appears to be "no progress on the DirecTV front," but the Pac-12 Nets might also "face some issues with AT&T U-Verse." But while losing U-Verse would "be another blow, it isn’t necessarily the world’s biggest deal." U-Verse only has an "estimated four million subscribers, with less than half of those inside the Pac-12’s footprint." Beyond just the loss of U-Verse in its own right, that loss would "presumably indicate there really will never be a DirecTV deal any time soon." The Pac-12 Nets "don’t have compelling-enough content for many carriers to be that worried about them, as DirecTV in particular has done just fine without the lower-tier Pac-12 games that wind up on the networks." There is "no particularly easy or obvious solution here" (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 7/25).
