By Luke Fletcher | Ft. Collins, CO

By the time the 2026 college football season kicks off, two western conferences will be operating under two very different media strategies.

On paper, the rebuilt Pac-12 appears to have landed the bigger number. The Mountain West appears to have built in more flexibility. Whether that flexibility turns into real dollars is the storyline worth watching. The Pac-12’s new football television package includes 49 games across eight schools, distributed as follows:

• 10 on CBS Sports Network
  
• 4 on CBS
  
• 22 on USA Network
  
• 13 on The CW
  

That total, 49 is significant. With eight football members, a typical season yields roughly six home games per school. That equals about 48 regular-season home games. Add the conference championship game and you’re right at 49.

In other words, if the package truly represents the conference’s full home inventory plus the title game, then every available football broadcast has already been placed on linear television.

That leaves essentially zero exclusive live football inventory for a standalone direct-to-consumer (DTC) product. The Pac-12 Now app, under that structure, becomes a companion platform — highlights, authentication streaming, shoulder programming — not a primary distribution driver for live games.

Financially, that linear-heavy model reportedly brings schools in the neighborhood of $6 million per year, though schools will be responsible for producing games for USA and The CW. It’s a guaranteed number with some production cost attached, but it’s stable.

The Pac-12’s approach is clear: maximize reach, lock in certainty, avoid streaming volatility. The Mountain West, meanwhile, structured its package differently. The conference will televise 41 football games across nine schools:

• 14 on CBS Sports Network
  
• 1 on CBS
  
• 1 on FOX
  
• 12 on FOX, FS1 or FS2
  
• 13 on The CW
  

That’s 41 linear games. But here’s where the models diverge. With 10 football members, the Mountain West controls significantly more total home inventory than what it sold to television partners.

In a 10-team structure, the math works like this:

• 40 conference games
  
• Roughly 20 home nonconference games
  
• Around 60 total home-controlled games
  

Subtract the 41 placed on linear television and that leaves approximately 19 games available for direct-to-consumer distribution. Unlike the Pac-12, the Mountain West didn’t sell everything, it kept inventory in reserve. Mountain West legacy members are projected to receive roughly $3.5 million per school annually from the linear deal, notably lower than the Pac-12’s reported payout.

But the Mountain West built its agreement to include additive DTC potential. Those 19 games aren’t replacements, they’re upside. If the conference’s streaming platform can convert fans into subscribers, even at modest levels, the additional revenue could begin narrowing the per-school payout gap.

There’s also strategic value beyond dollars:

• First-party fan data
  
• School-specific subscription models
  
• Flexible kickoff windows
  
• Digital growth runway
  

The Pac-12 chose certainty and the Mountain West chose scalability. Conference size plays a major role here. With eight members, the Pac-12’s home inventory is limited. Once those 49 games are distributed, there’s nothing left to monetize independently.

With 10 members, the Mountain West naturally generates more total games. That creates space for experimentation without sacrificing core television exposure. It’s not just about payout. It’s about optionality. The Pac-12’s $6 million annual model offers stability and national reach across CBS, USA and The CW. The Mountain West’s $3.5 million base offers exposure (CBS, FOX and The CW) plus an open door to grow.

If direct-to-consumer football proves viable at scale, the Mountain West’s approach could look visionary. If streaming revenue underperforms, the Pac-12’s guaranteed structure will look safer. Two conferences, two strategies and by 2028, we’ll find out which one fans, and the market,  value more.