THE CW NETWORK AND PAC-12 EXTEND BROADCAST PARTNERSHIP THROUGH 2030-31 SEASON
Network to Provide National Reach for 13 Regular Season Football Games Per Year
Extended Partnership Adds Regular Season Men's and Women's Basketball Games, Including Women's Basketball Tournament's Semifinal and Championship Games on The CW
BURBANK, CA (August 27, 2025) - The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference today jointly announced an extension of their broadcast partnership beginning with the new Pac-12's launch for the 2026-27 season and continuing through the 2030-31 season.
As part of this long-term relationship, the new Pac-12 will see a consistent regular season presence on The CW, with the network televising 13 regular season football games per year. In addition, the partnership adds regular season action for men's and women's basketball with 35 regular season men's basketball games and 15 regular season women's basketball games, as well as the semifinal and championship games for the new Pac-12 women's basketball tournament. Pac-12 Enterprises, the broadcast production arm of the conference, will produce all football, men's basketball, and women's basketball games, totaling 66 events annually.
The new Pac-12 will kick off during the 2026-27 season with Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas State, Utah State and Washington State. All nine current and future members of the new Pac-12 participated in the decision to extend the partnership with The CW.
"The Pac-12 has been a key partner in the success of CW Sports, and we are thrilled to solidify our relationship with the conference for an additional five years," said Brad Schwartz, President, The CW Network. "We have experienced firsthand the passion of the Oregon State and Washington State football programs and their dedicated fans and we are eager to introduce an additional seven schools in the new Pac-12 to our nationwide CW Sports audience. We are also excited to bring Pac-12 men's and women's basketball to our viewers featuring some of the most dynamic and celebrated collegiate programs in the country."
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould commented, "The Pac-12's partnership with The CW has been one of mutual growth and transformation, from the development of our Pac-12 Enterprises' broadcast production business to the significant added value and positive impact to our current and future members via true national reach across 100% of U.S. television households. I am excited for the continued growth of both The CW and the Pac-12 in the years ahead!"
The CW's partnership with the Pac-12 has been integral to the growth of both, beginning with the 2024 football season and, most recently, entering into an agreement for the 2025 football season, which kicks off on Saturday, August 30 at 10:00pm ET with Idaho at Washington State. This expanded partnership between The CW and the new Pac-12 continues to provide maximum reach and national exposure for the conference with The CW reaching 100 percent of U.S. television households.
During the 2024 football season, the Pac-12 delivered several notable ratings highlights for The CW, including the three most-watched college football games on the network. The CW's most-watched college football game of the year was the matchup between Washington State and Oregon State in Corvallis. The two teams will meet again on Saturday, November 29, at 6:30pm ET to wrap up the 2025 regular season.
The CW continues to grow and diversify its sports roster with the addition of more Pac-12 football and basketball, joining the full NASCAR Xfinity Series (soon to be NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series), WWE NXT every Tuesday night, ACC football and basketball games this fall, AVP beach volleyball this summer, PBR Team Series events on Saturdays and Sundays, and PBA professional bowling beginning in 2026. Sports programming now accounts for over 40% of the network's programming hours. The CW is the only network to have grown primetime ratings for five consecutive quarters and is now the 8th ranked, according to Nielsen.
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About The CW Network
The CW is America's fifth major broadcast network and reaches 100% of US television households. The CW delivers 15 hours of primetime entertainment programming per week in addition to nearly 400 hours of sports per year as the broadcast home to NASCAR Xfinity Series, WWE NXT, ACC football and basketball games, Pac-12 football games, AVP beach volleyball and PBR Team Series events. The fully ad-supported CW App, with more than 100 million downloads to date, is available for free to consumers on all major platforms and is home to the latest episodes and seasons of The CW's primetime programming and a library of entertaining film and television content for on-demand viewing. The CW is 75%-owned by Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST), a leading diversified media company and largest CW affiliate group. For more information about The CW, please visit www.cwtv.com.
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