$50M, hidden since 2017

So that's a 4 million hit per school.

https://pac-12.com/article/2023/01/20/pa...ry-20-2023

Official PAC Statement

Looks like another Larry Scott mess that needs to be cleaned up.

(01-20-2023 07:02 PM)bullet Wrote:  So that's a 4 million hit per school.

Yea right! Good Luck convincing USC and UCLA they owe this money.

They didn’t know the PAC was hiding money, it was revealed after they expressed their intent to leave. They don’t even have full voting rights for PAC budget anymore.

Hat tip to Crazy George for his Friday afternoon news dump

(01-20-2023 07:02 PM)bullet Wrote:  So that's a 4 million hit per school.

Don’t forget interest.

Wilner said it’s not ESPN or Fox. What other media entity could’ve overpaid by such a significant amount and not realized it for years?

(01-20-2023 08:45 PM)World Wide Swag Wrote:  Wilner said it’s not ESPN or Fox. What other media entity could’ve overpaid by such a significant amount and not realized it for years?

Comcast, Charter.

(01-20-2023 09:06 PM)Sicembear11 Wrote:  

(01-20-2023 08:45 PM)World Wide Swag Wrote:  Wilner said it’s not ESPN or Fox. What other media entity could’ve overpaid by such a significant amount and not realized it for years?

Comcast, Charter.

How much were they paying the PAC? $50 million is, uh, a lot of money

(01-20-2023 06:51 PM)ArmoredUpKnight Wrote:  

I'm trying to understand what happened.

So Fly By Night Cable (FBNC) agrees to purchase content from Pac-12 Networks (P12N). Since P12N consists of 6 regional networks, FBNC is only interested in one or two, etc. If you are in Yuma, Arizona maybe you only want the Arizona and Southern California networks.

FBNC and P12N have a contract that pays $X + $Y/customer each month. P12N wants to make sure FBNC is reporting accurate customer numbers, so they audit FBNC customer counts in 2017.

P12N realized they had been overcharging FBNC, perhaps charging for networks that were not delivered to FBNC. No customers of FBNC complained about not receiving the Washington network, and FBNC did not notice how their bill was being miscalculated.

The CEO and CFO of P12N wanted their books to look good. They might lose their jobs if they report reduced revenue, particularly if P12N has to refund past overcharges. It appears that P12N was mismanaged by locating their production facilities in very expensive San Francisco, rather than an office park in San Ramon where they are moving to.

Last fall FBNC realized they had been overcharged for years. Maybe they were reviewing their contract for the Southern California network. If you don't have media rights to USC and UCLA what are you going to put on that network? Idaho at Washington State field hockey?

Or maybe the Pac-12 is trying to sell P12N and potential buyers were auditing P12N. If you come across an audit from 2017 that revealed P12N knowingly overcharged FBNC, and might be continuing to do so, the lawyers for the buyer are realizing they may be purchasing a $50M lawsuit. And the Pac-12 is legally obligated to report this to the potential buyer, or they could be on the hook for fraud.

Maybe the Pac-12 is trying to get out from under the P12N. They agree to sell it for $1 in return for receiving future revenue. But the potential buyer does not want that $50M liability. They want the Pac-12 to absorb that.

(01-20-2023 08:45 PM)World Wide Swag Wrote:  Wilner said it’s not ESPN or Fox. What other media entity could’ve overpaid by such a significant amount and not realized it for years?

....maybe it's Dish Network? The ones withholding fees.

The ones who claim that the PAC owes them money from 2019.

Quote:In October 2022, the distribution partner who was the subject of the 2017 audit claimed that it had been overpaying the Pac-12 each year since prior to 2016. The distribution partner claims that the overpayments total more than $50M.

Counting on fingers, 2016, 17, 18, 19. Four years, $50M. $12.5M per year.

I'm sure this has no relationship whatsoever to the delayed media deal...

Why does it feel like the PAC12 may implode at any moment like the BIG EAST in 2013?

It's all coming up Aces for the Pac, no need to finalize that new media rights deal any time soon.

I have to imagine this will be awkward in their dealings with potential media partners.

(01-20-2023 11:52 PM)Sicembear11 Wrote:  I have to imagine this will be awkward in their dealings with potential media partners.

Kind of like Baylor approaching the PAC12 and ACC

This discovery may have been a factor in the move of PAC headquarters to East Bay from SF. It's not far, but the move saves millions.