The Pac-12’s relaunch tour is officially hitting the airwaves. After years of uncertainty, the league has found a new rhythm, reaching agreements with CBS, The CW, and now USA Sports to ensure that every game will be shown on traditional TVs. No FOX, no ESPN, and most importantly, no gatekeeping for streaming. At a time when SEC fans are struggling with YouTube TV blackouts and ESPN access issues, the Pac-12 has emerged as a hero for the common people.

The Pac-12 is heavily relying on the “old-school” linear model with cable, satellite, and broadcast. For maximum reach and reliability in a time when SEC fans are frustrated with YouTube TV blackouts and fragmented access.  Reporter Amanda Christovich announced on X that USA Sports would broadcast 22 football games every season through 2030. The recently rebuilt Pac-12 now includes Oregon State, Washington State, and six new teams.

“The new Pac-12 is where tradition meets transformation — a unique opportunity in the rapidly-evolving college sports landscape that strongly aligns with the go-forward vision of USA Sports,” Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould said. “We are thrilled to launch this partnership with the USA Sports team and leverage shared vision to build something unique and special.”

Along with early-round coverage of the men’s tournament, the agreement also includes 50 men’s basketball games and up to 10 women’s games every year. The CW adds 13 extra football games to the schedule, while CBS will host two regular-season games and the Pac-12 championship game.  Overall, the Pac-12 brass sends a clear message that fans do not need a streaming subscription to catch a single down or basket.

With the addition of the Pac-12 to a portfolio that already includes NASCAR, the WNBA, and Premier League soccer, USA Sports, the recently established division of Versant, takes on its largest college sports role to date. The Pac-12 takes pride in being accessible to anybody with a TV remote, while FOX and ESPN watch from the sidelines. For Pac-12 fans, that promise of easy TV access sounds like heaven. But for SEC fans? It’s the opposite story.

YouTube TV’s ESPN blackout nears record length as Pac-12 smiles

If Google and Disney don’t reach an agreement soon, the blackout will be the longest major sports outage in history. ESPN and ABC are still missing from YouTube TV. Right in the middle of the chaotic 2025 college football season, they disappeared and the timing couldn’t be worse. A contract disagreement over “carriage fees,” or the amount YouTube TV pays Disney to broadcast its channels, has escalated into a full-fledged deadlock.

Google claims that Disney’s request for more funding would lead to pricing increases and the result? Fans are forced to stare at empty screens. As analyst Rich Greenfield posted on X, “Still two days to go for ESPN / ABC / Disney to tie the longest blackout ever… missed one MNF game and one Saturday of College Football.” And the frustration runs deep. Fans have missed back-to-back weekends of major games due to the absence of ESPN, ABC, SEC Network, and ACC Network.

One viewer vented on X, “A one time credit won’t suffice for a lot of people unless you get those channels back on the air. If you can’t get them back on the air, you’re gonna lose a lot of customers and the ones who choose to keep subscriptions, you should drop their bills.” The $20 credit that YouTube TV offered in an effort to console subscribers only made things worse. Fans criticized the company’s decision as “slimy” and “pathetic” because it required people to claim their refunds via email instead of automatic refunds.

This blackout serves as a warning about the future of college football viewership. Fans are paying the price as Disney and Google dig in their heels. And somewhere in the West, the recently revived Pac-12 must be grinning because, next season, every Pac-12 game will be shown on traditional television while the SEC’s devoted fans struggle with blackouts. There won’t be any chaos, streaming battles; just football as it should be.