MountainWest Sports Network

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MountainWest Sports Network

MountainWest Sports Network, informally known as The Mtn. (but pronounced "the mountain") is an American regional sports network.

Launched on September 1, 2006 as a joint-venture of the Mountain West Conference (MWC), CBS College Sports Network (then CSTV) and Comcast. The Mtn. is a 24-hour television network devoted entirely to covering MWC sports.

The Mtn. also produces MWC events that air on Versus and CBS College Sports Network.

History

Launched on September 1, 2006 by the Mountain West Conference (MWC) and CBS College Sports Network, "The Mtn." is the first network dedicated solely to a college athletic conference. In 2006, the MWC elected to discontinue affiliation with ESPN due to a conflict over game schedules and financial compensation.

Programming

Play-by-play

The network has covered 290 live sporting events in its first two years of operation. Details of football and basketball telecasts are listed in the events section below. Also on the schedule are current and former Olympic sports like baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, and track and field.

Studio shows

Mountain View - A twice-a-week show similar to SportsCenter, with current news and information
Nightly 90-second news updates during evening hours
Mountain Cap - Recap show that airs every Saturday after live sporting events
Around the Mtn. - Panel show with sportswriters and bloggers
It's a Numbers Game - Statistical analyses during football season
Mountain Peak Performance - Olympic-sports news and highlights
Team previews for each football, men's basketball, and women's basketball program
Campus Cam and Campus View - Magazine shows produced by each member institution

Documentaries/reality shows

A Day in the Life - Follows teams and players around
A Conversation with... - Combines interviews with participatory journalism
Legends - Profiles of former MWC players and coaches. Debuted August 27, the day of its DirecTV debut, with Lavell Edwards.

Hosts and analysts

(past and present)

Gary Bender
Glenn Parker
Courtney George
Marius Payton
Tim Neverett
Bill Doleman
Anne Marie Anderson
Natalie Vickers
Scott Sarra
Tammy Blackburn
Mark Knudson
Marty Fletcher
Larry Mangino
Todd Christensen
James Bates
Rich Cellini
Todd Berger
Andrea Lloyd
Bill Riley
Amy Gant
Dave Bollwinkel
Mike Evans
Ann Schatz
Terri Goldberg
Joe Cravens

Distribution

The Mtn. is currently available in eight of the nine MWC markets, and the following 18 providers offer The Mtn:

Satellite

DirecTV

Cable

All West Communications (Utah, Wyoming)
Bresnan (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming)
Cable ONE (Idaho, New Mexico)
CentraCom Cable TV (Utah)
Comcast (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
Cox (California, Nevada)
Independent Cable Systems of Idaho (Idaho)
Manti Tele Communications Company (Utah)
MSTARmetro (Utah)
Project Mutual Telephone (Idaho)
Provo Cable (Utah)
Rural Telephone Company (Idaho)
Saratoga Cable (Utah)
Silver Star Communications (Wyoming)
Spanish Fork Community Network (Utah)
Sweetwater Cable Television (Wyoming)
TCT (Wyoming)

Online

Comcast.net (highlights only)

The Mtn. is not currently available on Dish Network satellite television (unlike the Big Ten Network).

On February 22, 2008, DirecTV and The Mtn. reached a carriage agreement in which the channel was added in time for the 2008-09 academic year.

As of November 3, 2007 Precis Communications which services roughly 25 rural areas throughout Utah, Nevada and Arizona has refused to carry The Mtn. unless they are allowed to put it on a tier package. Comcast states that it is a requirement that it comes with expanded basic service. Precis Communications has stated that "in order to pay for the cost of having The Mtn. we would either have to have it on a tier or raise all our customers rates by 2 to 3 dollars, which would dissatisfy our customers who do not want The Mtn."

Distribution controversy

On June 1, 2007, the presidents of Brigham Young University and the University of Utah, unsatisfied with the current distribution, issued a joint press release that they "retained a sports broadcasting attorney to explore all possible options in improving the distribution of athletic broadcasts to their fans".

On June 5, 2007 the MWC Board "reaffirmed its unanimous support of the league's television model and its commitment to working collectively as a unified group", and its Directors unanimously voted to join BYU and Utah to retain the attorney they had hired.

In an interview with KUTV, President Michael K. Young of Utah stated that "Every [MWC member] knows...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.

MWC Institutions

Air Force Falcons
BYU Cougars
Colorado State Rams
New Mexico Lobos
San Diego State Aztecs (athletics wiki article: SDSU Aztecs)
TCU Horned Frogs and Lady Frogs (athletics wiki article: TCU Horned Frogs)
UNLV Rebels and Lady Rebels
Utah Utes (athletics wiki article: Utah Utes)
Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls

Events covered

At least two college football games per week
MWC men's basketball tournament (first two rounds; semifinal games are on CBS College Sports, final game is on Versus)
MWC women's basketball tournament (all rounds except final game, which is on Versus)
MWC baseball and softball tournaments (at least most games)