What The CW joining Pac-12 media rights package means for Gonzaga

Originally posted on Gonzaga Bulldogs on SI
By Andy Patton | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 3:17 PM ET

The Pac-12 formally announced The CW as the second piece of its media rights package, with the network joining flagship partner CBS in an official announcement on Wednesday.

The CW has signed on to be part of the Pac-12 media deal from 2026-2031, agreeing to broadcast 66 annual conference events. This will include hosting the women's basketball tournament semifinal and championship games, 13 regular-season football games, 35 regular-season men's basketball games, and 15 regular-season women's basketball games.

The games will be produced by Pac-12 Enterprises, the TV production arm of the conference.

The CW is already a partner with Pac-12 football in 2025, and it was long expected that they would sign on to join the conference's new media deal starting in 2026. The CW and CBS each claim to reach '100 percent of U.S. households' over the air, and are easily findable on cable TV or other services like YouTube TV, Fubo, Hulu+, or The CW app.

For Gonzaga fans, The CW will be a new channel to keep in the rotation starting in 2026 when the program officially moves into the Pac-12 conference. While the Pac-12 has not announced a formal number of conference games for men's basketball, each team will likely play either 16 or 18 regular-season games per year.

That means roughly 20-25% percent of regular season Pac-12 men's basketball games, and 8-10% of women's games, will be on The CW from 2026-2031. Those games are not expected to be split evenly among every program, however, and it would not be a surprise to see very few Gonzaga games on The CW.

CBS will air a minimum of three regular-season men's basketball games annually, while the CBS Sports Network plans to air 17 regular-season men's basketball games per year. Gonzaga is the most desirable basketball brand in the Pac-12, and as the flagship media partner, it is expected that CBS will show as many Zags games as they can, leaving the less desirable matchups to other partners.

With CBS hosting the Pac-12 football championship and men's basketball championship, and now The CW taking the women's basketball title game, the Pac-12 has locked in broadcast partners for three of the most crucial annual events in the conference — and they aren't done either.

CBS and The CW are two of what many, including Pac-12 reporter John Canzano, expect to be a three or four-partner media deal for the conference. Warner Bros. Discovery — which includes TNT, TBS, TruTV, and MAX — has had conversations with the Pac-12's consulting firm Octagon, while Pac-12 executives met with ESPN last week as well. Additionally, Canzano heard from a source that a major streaming service is kicking the tires on getting involved in the Pac-12's media package.

Lastly, the question on many people's minds is just how much annually this media rights deal will bring in per school. Estimates range from $7.5 million to $12 million annually, although the actual number will vary based on postseason success. The Pac-12 has ensured that high-performing programs take home a larger cut of postseason shares — a big benefit for Gonzaga and not unlike the one they had in the WCC.

For Gonzaga, even the low-end estimates of the media rights deal represent a huge financial boost from what they were getting from the WCC, and the added talent in the conference makes this a slam dunk move.

Having games broadcast on easy to access channels like CBS and The CW is just a bonus.