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In an annual rite of passage, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott was asked to address a familiar question for perhaps the thousandth time: No, no news on DirecTV.
The Pac-12 hasn't been able to get its channels on the country's largest satellite television provider since it launched in 2012. But that doesn't mean that the conference hasn't been making moves to get into more households.
The Pac-12 recently announced a deal with Dish Network that put the Pac-12 Network on their Extended Basic tier, which should add 4 million subscribers — between a 30- to 38-percent increase in overall subscriptions, according to a San Jose Mercury-News estimation.
While that still dwindles well beneath the subscribers to competing conference networks such as the SEC and Big Ten networks by an estimated 40 million or more subscribers, the Pac-12 has been resourceful in adding eyeballs through other small-scale deals. Scott also announced a deal with Charter, a cable company serving Los Angeles and Dallas, to add the Pac-12 Network to households in those markets.
DirecTV and large-scale exposure continue to elude them, Scott said in an interview with the Tribune, but the Pac-12 feels it has been aggressive in expanding in other ways, albeit at a much smaller level.
"We think it shows confidence in our network, and that there's interest in the product," Scott said. "Frankly, it further isolates DirecTV as one of the few companies that isn't showing our network."
While the Pac-12 has openly warred with DirecTV in the past, asking Pac-12 fans to leave the provider, their more recent strategy has been more subtle. Since carving out a deal with Sling TV earlier this year, a company owned by Dish, the Pac-12 has continued to negotiate with so-called "over the top" providers. Scott hinted that other announcements could be on the way.
Pac-12 officials told the Tribune that Sling availability has gotten positive feedback from viewers, who can access the Pac-12 without a cable or satellite connection by subscribing to Sling.
"There's a lot of new players in the market since we started," Scott said. "YouTube, Hulu and Amazon all have these video services now. We think we'll benefit from that."
Arizona's Trier absent from media days
Wildcats coach Sean Miller opened his remarks Friday with a seemingly sentimental statement: "I wouldn't want to be here at media day with anyone else other than Kadeem [Allen]."
Problem is, Allen wasn't Miller's first choice.
Miller was scheduled to come to San Francisco with sophomore guard Allonzo Trier, who averaged 14.8 points per game for the Wildcats last year. But recent weeks have seen rising rumors that Trier's eligibility may be at risk this year — rumors that were only fanned by his absence at Pac-12 headquarters.
Asked directly if Allen's substitution was a reflection of Trier's eligibility, Miller said: "I'm not going to comment on that."
Trier is widely viewed as one of the top returners in the Pac-12 this season. He was named to the Jerry West Award watch list for the nation's top shooting guard, and is ranked the No. 44 prospect on Draft Express.
Rivalry, kind of
Who is Colorado's rival?
"I think we try to go out and beat every team we play," Buffs forward Wesley Gordon said. "So I don't think there is any — I mean, maybe Utah, I guess."
Gordon's weak endorsement of the Pac-12 South travel partners as rivals got some laughs during Colorado's media session. Utah and Colorado have played some close games in the past few seasons, including a two-point thriller in Boulder last season that the Utes won with a last-second layup.
Coach Tad Boyle quickly clarified for his senior.
"Obviously everybody tries to pit us against Utah — we're travel partners," he said. "But I think rivalries just have to take on a life of their own. You can't just pick somebody. … So I think for us, we've just got to get to the upper echelon in the league, and those rivalries will happen, I think, over the course of time."
Twitter: @kylegoon