Pac-12 media deal can reach $30 million but Kliavkoff gets trapped in incentivized variables to scale Apple's streaming business

The Pac-12 media deal is reportedly getting to the final stages of being completed. The deal seems to be with Apple TV and has a base pay of $19.7 million per team but, according to reports, that deal can escalate.

As of writing, there has been no indication of what number of subscriptions they would need to reach. All that we know is that they can get to $30 million per team in this Pac-12 media deal if they were to reach that escalator in the contract.

The deal is going to be highlighted throughout the next few weeks until we get more of a concrete answer of the conference's direction.

Does this Pac-12 media deal give hope to the conference?

It is hard to feel much more confident with the deal on the table with Apple TV for a few reasons. One is the amount of money it is going to wind up being for. Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff completely overplayed his hand in the early negotiating window and now is finding a more reasonable number.

The number of subscribers that the Pac-12 would need to hit in order to surpass the Big 12 is unknown, however, adding an additional $10 million per team is going to mean a high number.

According to a study from JustWatch, Apple TV+ accounts for only six percent of the streaming market. With a Pac-12 media deal, that number could increase.

There are some worries that Apple TV is not going to help the conference expand. The media giant has been getting more live sports rights under its umbrella as they also have the Major League Soccer Season Pass, MLS streaming rights and exclusive weekly Major League Baseball games.

In this Pac-12 media deal, it seems to be that the games are going to be behind the paywall, which means that there is no way to watch the games if you do not have Apple TV+ and that can kill the potential growth of the league with no linear television.

What is the number that the Pac-12 would need to hit to make this deal worth it?

That answer is going to be decided by Kliavkoff and the presidents of the university. With less than 11 months until their current media rights deal expires, time is of the essence to save the Pac-12 from collapse.