For years, fans in Southern Arizona have been able to watch nearly every Arizona basketball game on television as long as they had access to local channels and regional sports networks.
But fans with DirecTV service won’t be able to watch 11 Wildcat games this season if a negotiation impasse between the satellite provider and the Pac-12 Networks continues. (Cox, Comcast and Dish Network subscribers have access to the Pac-12 Networks, however).
One of the conference’s landmark media rights changes this season is that the Pac-12 Networks has generally taken over basketball games that were either not televised or covered by local channels and regional sports networks, which for UA was Channel 58 and Fox Sports Arizona.
As of now, the Pac-12 Networks is scheduled to televise 11 UA basketball games, including the Wildcats’ opener on Sunday against Charleston Southern. The Wildcats’ other 19 regular-season games will be televised on channels in the ESPN and Fox families, which are widely available.
While DirecTV and the Pac-12 Networks have made public statements about the impasse since the beginning of football season, each firmly drawing a line in the sand, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott told the Star that pressure could pick up with basketball season now underway because of the high number of games scheduled to be televised.
Read more about the state of Arizona sports on television in Friday's Arizona Daily Star.
Please Wait…