MountainWest Sports Network

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
MountainWest Sports Network
NBCUniversal Television Group
CBS Corporation
History
LaunchedSeptember 1, 2006; 17 years ago (2006-09-01)
ClosedMay 31, 2012; 11 years ago (2012-05-31)

The MountainWest Sports Network, also known as The Mtn. (stylized as the mtn.), was an American

sports television channel. Launched on September 1, 2006, it was dedicated to the Mountain West Conference (MWC), including studio programs following the conference, live events, and documentary-style programs profiling the conference's members. It was the first such network of its kind in the United States. The network was a joint venture between the conference's two rightsholders, CBS Corporation and NBCUniversal (initially via Comcast
).

History

The MountainWest Sports Network launched as part of the conference's new television deals with CSTV and Versus (later known as CBS Sports Network and NBCSN respectively), which jointly replaced ESPN.[1] It was the first cable sports network in the United States to be devoted to a single college athletic conference —a business model that would later be emulated by Power Five conferences such as the Big Ten, SEC, and ACC.[2]

The channel initially struggled to gain carriage; at launch, it was available to approximately one million subscribers, but it was unable to gain carriage on providers in Las Vegas and San Diego (two of the conference's major markets via the San Diego State Aztecs and the UNLV Rebels) nor on satellite television, at launch.[3][4]

The lack of national distribution proved particularly frustrating for the BYU Cougars, as the team has a notable national fanbase via the LDS Church.[3] The MountainWest Sports Network had narrower distribution than Brigham Young University's own BYU TV, and the conference's television partners CSTV and Versus. While the agreements limited the amount of events BYU TV could air, the MWC did promote that the deals would result in more televised events.[3]

In June 2007, the presidents of BYU and the University of Utah issued a joint press release, stating that the schools had "retained a sports broadcasting attorney to explore all possible options in improving the distribution of athletic broadcasts to their fans."[3][5] In an interview with KUTV, University of Utah president Michael K. Young stated that "President Samuelson and I have been clear about this for the last year and a half that it is absolutely essential that we get on satellite to make our games available to our fans. Anything short of that is unacceptable." He then added that "We are passionately committed to our having our football games being on TV this year."[6]

The MountainWest Sports Network reached a carriage agreement with DirecTV in 2008.[4]

Closure

In 2010, as part of a

Pac-10.[7] In mid-August 2010, after Fresno State and Nevada were invited to the MWC, it was reported that CBS and Comcast wanted to expand distribution of MountainWest Sports Network. It was also reported that BYU was contemplating becoming a football independent and joining the West Coast Conference (WCC) in all other sports, with dissatisfaction with the MountainWest Sports Network being a factor. BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe stated that "We have a national base. We can go all over the country and people can see that. That is a very important thing to us right now — exposure."[8] BYU announced its exit from the MWC as expected on August 31, 2010,[9] and reached an agreement with ESPN to carry its games.[10] In 2011 Comcast-owned Xfinity began expanding its carriage of the channel, especially in non-Mountain West markets, after Boise State joined the conference.[4]

On April 5, 2012, amid further uncertainty surrounding the conference (including the possibility of an

Root Sports Rocky Mountain beginning in the 2013–14 season.[15]

The "Mountain West Network" name remains in use for a digital platform carrying conference events not broadcast on television, which relies on production crews at each individual school.[16]

Programming

Live events

The network covered over 800 live sporting events in its first four years of operation. Details of

soccer, volleyball, and track and field. The Mtn. aired pregame and post game shows from its suburban Denver, Colo. studios in support of most of the network's live event coverage, including football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball and softball. Halftime shows took place for all football and men's and women's basketball game telecasts.[citation needed
]

Studio shows

Former shows

The Mountain View (final show 9/3/10), The Mountain Cap, Mountain Peak Performances (final show 9/1/10) and On Campus Cam have been canceled. On Campus Cam, which featured a panel of students from different institutions across the Mountain West Conference, was rolled into Around the Mountain, presented by Jeep roughly once per month.

Documentaries/reality shows

Notable on–air staff

References

Information on specific programs comes from the half-hour special This is the Mtn., which aired in conjunction with the DirecTV launch. See also:

  1. ^ "OLN joining TV team for MWC distribution". The Denver Post. 2006-07-19. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  2. ^ a b "The Mtn Going Dark May 31 As Mountain West Nears Deal With CBS Sports Network". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  3. ^ a b c d "Scott D. Pierce: Even MWC lawyers probably can't fix The mtn". Deseret News. 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  4. ^ a b c "Pac-12 Networks fires up, but will it last?". ESPN.com. 2012-08-15. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  5. ^ Jennings, Chantel. "The grass is always greener: Inside the give and take of Utah and BYU's Mountain West exit". The Athletic. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  6. ^ "Utes & Cougars VS The Mountain". kutv.com. Archived from the original on 2007-06-06. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
  7. ^ Katz, Andy (August 18, 2010). "Sources: BYU mulling Notre Dame path". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  8. ^ "MWC invites two new schools". ESPN.com. August 18, 2010. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  9. ^ Katz, Andy (August 31, 2010). "BYU leaving MWC for 2011–12 season". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  10. ^ "BYU to fly solo with ESPN, possible Irish series". ESPN.com. 2010-09-01. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  11. ^ Saunders, Dusty (28 May 2012). "Dusty Saunders: The Mtn. network signs off for good Thursday night". The Denver Post. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  12. ^ "Mountain West TV Network will be discontinued". Colorado Springs Gazette. Archived from the original on 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  13. ^ "Sources: MWC close to 7-year deal with ESPN". ESPN.com. 2013-03-07. Retrieved 2022-08-14.
  14. ^ Hinxman, Dan. "Mountain West, ESPN reach deal on TV rights". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved 2022-08-14.
  15. ^ Bern, Taylor (2013-05-15). "Mountain West partners with ROOT Sports for new regional TV deal - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". lasvegassun.com. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  16. ^ Grimala, Mike (2022-02-08). "Why livestreaming of UNLV games is hit or miss - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". lasvegassun.com. Retrieved 2022-08-19.