The Pac-12 Network broadcast its final live men’s basketball game this weekend.
As the network prepares for spring sports coverage this year, uncertainty was in the air in Las Vegas. It’s been a long and windy road for the network and conference. Seeing how things played out on the final Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament broadcast was a bit eerie. The Oregon Ducks defeated the Colorado Buffaloes to win the tourney, clinching a bid and potentially thieving one from a team on the bubble.
Following Oregon’s victory, the broadcast crew signed off for one final time. Ashley Adamson, the lead anchor at the desk, offered the stage to analysts Don MacLean and Matt Muehlebach to let them discuss the winding path we’ve been on for over a decade.
As the Pac-12 Network ends its basketball coverage, host @AdamsonAshley gives analysts Don MacLean and Matt Muehlebach time to provide their thoughts on their years at the network. pic.twitter.com/vjKpEXJwfu
— Ken Fang — Very Asian (@fangsbites) March 17, 2024
The unmistakably eerie vibes continued after Adamson took over the segment. Adamson recognized all the folks behind the scenes who’ve powered them all through thick and thin. “The reality is we don’t know what’s ahead,” Adamson said, alluding to all the mystery surrounding the conference and the network since its inception. The crew waved goodbye and then a montage of memorable Pac-12 basketball moments officially drew the broadcast to a close.
In the last segment of the Basketball Postgame, host Ashley Adamson says that this is the last event for which she’s scheduled. She recognizes the behind the scenes crew, “The reality is we don’t really know what’s ahead … The only that is guaranteed is more change.” pic.twitter.com/bbtjBUdOIL
— Ken Fang — Very Asian (@fangsbites) March 17, 2024
It’s a dispiriting situation. It’s not any broadcaster’s fault that the network never really got momentum but now has to fold due to the Pac-12’s dissolvement. By now, you’re aware that 10 of the 12 Pac-12 teams will play in the Big Ten or the Big 12 from 2024 onward. Although Oregon State and Washington State have created a “Pac-2,” it’s not something that has the gravitas needed to maintain the coverage that the Pac-12 Network demands.
Even more dispiriting, perhaps, is the number of comments on the above posts of people finding the network for the first time.
The network won’t be going away quite yet. There’s still plenty of spring sports action (baseball and softball most notably) that the network will air throughout the semester.
After that? It’s truly anyone’s guess. The likeliest scenario is that the Pac-12 Networks expires once the schools flee this offseason, giving the outlet, appropriately enough, a 12-year run.
As always, you feel for reporters and the hard-working people behind the scenes who will be affected when the network reaches its end, which nears closer every day.
[Ken Fang]
