Pac-12 announces one national, six regional networks

The Pac-12 will launch seven networks—one national and six regional—in August of 2012, making it the first collegiate conference with multiple networks, the conference announced Tuesday.

The Pac-12 Networks will broadcast 850 live events annually, including all conference championship events and every football and men’s basketball game not broadcasted on national television partner networks.

The conference announced a partnership with four cable providers—Comcast, Time Warner, Cox Communications and Bright House Networks—meaning the networks will be available to roughly 40 million customers.

The six regional networks will be based in Southern California, Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona and a combined “Mountain” network in Utah and Colorado.

“As we explored the potential for a Pac-12 network, it became clear that we could customize programming towards local interests and provide our students, alumni, and many fans the widest possible range of events with the best opportunity to see the schools they care about most,” Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement.

The deal will also allow fans to view content on digital devices including smartphones and tablet computers.

The 12-year deal with the cable providers coincides with the conference’s earlier 12-year, $3-billion contract with ESPN and Fox to broadcast football and men’s basketball games.

Financial terms of the deal were not made public.