The Pac-10 Conference has hired the Hollywood firm Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to consult on possible expansion and media rights deals, according to a SportsBusiness Journal report.
The agency will advise the conference on the possible development of its own cable channel and on potential schools and markets to target for expansion, the report said. The conference's current TV deal with FOX and ESPN is scheduled to expire after the 2011-12 school year.
Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott, who will complete his first year in that capacity in July, confirmed that the conference plans to explore launching a cable channel.
"If I didn't believe a channel was a viable option, I wouldn't have made it part of CAA's mandate," Scott told the Journal.
CAA's roster of high-powered celebrity clients has included Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Steven Spielberg, LeBron James and Oprah Winfrey.
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