Pac-12 Online TV: Wave of the Future Or Pie in the Sky?

San Jose Mercury News college sports columnist John Wilner threw out an intriguing possibility for the proposed PAC-12 Network: an internet home. Increasingly sophisticated web capabilities on phones and “tablets” (the lamest generic label imaginable) gives internet accessibility to virtually anyone at anytime, anywhere. This proposition comes on the same day NPR featured a baseball-playing robot, so between an omnipresent technological network and physically adaptive robots the two key components of the Terminator franchise are in place.

Until the internet becomes Skynet and baseball-catching robots become unstoppable killing machines, the Net is a thought provoking possibility for the PAC-12. Leave it to Larry Scott to continue innovating. Certain issues like cable and satellite contracts are nullified, though a web-only presence creates new challenges. Networks attract web visitors placing shows online, and ESPN has a successful model for broadcasting sports via ESPN3. But neither relies on its web presence as its primary outlet.

Presumably, ESPN and FOX aired football and basketball games would work as the primary vehicle to promote PAC-12 TV — assuming contractually that’s allowed. This doesn’t make PAC-12 TV Online any less of a gamble for advertisers though. Through satellite and cable partnerships, the PAC-12 can guarantee its network in __ million number of homes. Yes, being online means accessibility for every internet user in the nation, but a website being available on 100 million computers is hardly the same as attracting 100 million viewers.

The issue of over-saturation arises too, with PAC-12 TV now competing with however millions of websites as opposed to 300 television channels. And the likelihood of a viewer stumbling upon and hanging around to watch a mid-level PAC basketball game on TV is much greater than online. Web viewers would have to actively seek out PAC content, eliminating those casual watchers surfing their cable packages.

As a sole means for airing the network, online has too many problems to overcome. However, as a properly developed entity and supplement to a TV network, PAC-12 Online could flourish. Basketball is the chief example, as most Thursday nights in the winter, there are four or five PAC games played. The televised games can direct eyes to the website, and by having an online presence with credible, exclusive content, the conference carves out a niche that is still very much untapped. With that aforementioned expanse of web availability, the PAC is staking a piece of prime real estate in the early days of Manifest Destiny.

Scott has proven repeatedly in his tenure as PAC commissioner that he’s a visionary. Should this web concept never come to complete fruition, or take on a different face, his challenge to the status quo is still admirable.