Agreement Signed, DISH Network to Carry the New Pac-12 Network

DISH Network and the new Pac-12 television network signed an agreement just after midnight today to allow distribution of the channel in the Southland and across the nation, the satellite company announced.

All DISH Network satellite customers nationwide have access to this weekend's football games, although the company said the access is via a "free preview" this weekend. The company has not yet stated how access to the two Pac-12 channels will be handled on various programming tiers.

The networks are already available on some cable systems in Southern California, including Time Warner. But they are not on other cable systems, like Charter, U-Verse or Verizon Fios, or on DirecTV,

Los Angeles-area viewers will get two channels: one devoted to UCLA and USC, and national feed that will carry all other Pac-12 football and men's basketball games.

Games on the Pac-12 TV network today include Southern Utah at California, at noon; Fresno State at Oregon, 3:30 p.m; Oklahoma State at Arizona, 7:30 p.m.; and Duke at Stanford, also at 7:30 p.m. The games are on DISH channels 413 and 445.

Pac-12 games this weekend featuring USC and UCLA were already scheduled to air on the ABC and Fox broadcast stations in Los Angeles. The new channels plan to telecast almost every Pac-12 football and mens' basketball game not picked up by the Fox broadcast or ABC/ESPN networks.

The Los Angeles area is also served by two Fox Sports-owned cable channels, and Time Warner has purchased rights for the Los Angeles Lakers and Galaxy for its new English- and Spanish-language channels to launch this winter.

The Pac-12 networks are based in San Francisco, and will provide seven feeds to its systems, although no viewer will get more than the local channel and a national network feed. The network is a 50-50 deal between Fox Sports and the schools, and it has announced plans to distribute $10 million per school for the rights to 850 live events per year.

- City News Service