The Pac-12 Network launched on Aug. 15 on many cable outlets, but DirecTV has still yet to agree to pick up the channel. The reports have been all over the place with the two sides no where near an agreement on Aug. 24, and then just one day later another report is saying a deal is possibly by Monday.
Now the latest on the DirecTV/Pac-12 Network deal is that the channel could be placed on it's on subscription based tier -- instead of the sports package or on of their many tiers -- similar to Fox Soccer Plus.
It has been reported that the Pac-12 Network costs 80 cents per subscriber, so not sure why DirecTV would be going for this high rate when Comcast, Time Warner and others are adding it to some sort of sports package or digital cable tier depending on where one lives.
However, the original source who mentioned that the Pac-12 Network would cost $14.99 per month could be interpreted as having access to all seven networks for that cost. That is the only way the price mentioned could even be considered by fans.
Avinash Kunnath of SB Nation's Pac-12 blog Pacific Takes, makes an educated guess of how the DirecTV deal could play out:
So in this case, I'd guess that the Pac-12 National Network would become available on the regular DirecTV Sports Pack, and then there would be an option to add the remaining Pac-12 regional networks in a separate plan that would cost somewhere $14.99 a month to access the six regional networks.
I cannot imagine the Pac-12 agreeing to terms that would not have the national network (and potentially the regional channels in the regional areas) available on the regular Sports Pack. Agreeing to have all the networks on a separate plan would be a lose-lose for just about everyone. The best possible solution is to have the national network on the Sports Pack and the This way the diehards can be appeased with the premium package and everyone who just wants the basic distribution to the big football and basketball matchups will also get what they want.
I disagree with some with Kunnath's take on that is the the best case scenario. The best case scenario would be for those who live within the regional foot print to have the Pac-12 National network as well as the assigned regional channel to be placed on the regional sports channel along side the various Fox Sports regional networks. Then if a person wants all of the regional networks they should have the option to buy the sports package.
If one lives outside of the conference footprint then the National channel should be on DirecTV Sports Package that costs $12.99 per month, as should the six regional networks.
If DirecTV is really considering making the Pac-12 Network channels into a stand alone package, then they will not have too many people sign up since the true marquee games are on the ESPN and Fox family of networks. The Pac-12 Network does get top billing a few weeks, so maybe there will be some pressure on DirecTV, and others, to make it on a reasonable package.
For more on the Pac-12 go check out Pacific Takes.