Oregon State and Washington State home football games will be back on The CW this coming season, with CBS and ESPN also in the mix, as part of a media rights deal the Pac-12 Conference signed with the three networks.
The Pac-12 made the deals with an eye toward the 2026 season, when the league will add five current members of the Mountain West Conference — Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State, Colorado State and Boise State — along with Gonzaga from the West Coast Conference.
Gonzaga does not have a football program, so to qualify for the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the Pac-12 will need to bring in at least one additional full-time member with a football program.
The CW will handle nine games while ESPN and CBS (along with Paramount+) will get two games apiece. In 2024, The CW broadcast nine games, with the other four shown on Fox.
In Week 2 on Sept. 6, The CW will showcase previews of the new Pac-12 with Washington State hosting San Diego State and Fresno State visiting Oregon State. Washington State and Oregon State will meet in a home-and-home series in November.
ESPN will broadcast Cal at Oregon State on Aug. 30 and Houston at Oregon State on Sept. 26. CBS has the Apple Cup on Sept. 20 featuring Washington State at Washington and Washington State at Oregon State on Nov. 1.
Financial terms were not disclosed for the deal.
Despite having just two schools in the conference in 2024, Pac-12 football averaged 431,000 viewers over 12 telecasts last season on The CW and 1.99 million on the two Fox games.
–Field Level Media
