Some time ago the Mountain West Conference signed a deal with CSTV to show their games on TV. This current deal replaced the deal previously signed with ESPN. At the time, I didn’t really think much of the deal. In fact, I thought somewhat highly of it because ESPN did a terrible job of promoting the conference.
But now this new deal is making me real upset. I am a DirecTV subscriber and I love the service. But CSTV has signed an exclusive cable deal with Comcast. If I were a Comcast subscriber, this would make me mad. How do the schools inside the conference feel about this?
What do you think of this deal?
Personally, I think it stinks. The conference should want to get in as many homes as possible. Why don’t they make this deal with all cable/satellite dealers? Comcast will not get me as a customer just to watch BYU football from my own family room. There are other ways to get the game.
So what can we do about it? It sounds like New Mexico is having the same problem. The AD of New Mexico has actually asked fans to help out. I think this needs to be done by all Mountain West fans.
Contact your provider (DirecTV, DISH) and tell them to pick up CSTV. Contact the Mountain West Conference (kind of odd their site is hosted by CSTV) to tell them what you think. Blog about it (can you say blogswarm). Do something.
I may have to resort to watching reruns on KBYU at 11:00 PM every Saturday. CSTV could redeem themselves somewhat if they ended up showing the content online.
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Josh, I agree with you on the CSTV crap thing not on the tube, but I am still wondering, why is your blog titled the “Picklewagon?” Is this a VeggieTales reference?
Josh, I have CSTV on Dish and the rumor on cougarboard is that DISH is adding the MTN channel before the season.
Josh - good comments. I too agree that the new CSTV deal seems to be questionable. I understand that ESPN was starting to tighten the purse strings and forcing more games on Tuesday thru Thursday nights, not thinking that the Mtn. West had other options. I think this was a move that surprised everybody.
After watching the Stanford game on CSTV 2 years ago I am bursting with excitement about our new broadcast partners (TIC!). Add to that Trev Alberts, the man notorious for bashing mid majors as the main analyst and I think we have a recipe for disaster.
will Dish network carry mtn? They already have cstv!!!!
I agree…I am a CSU alumni in Texas and since the switch hardly see them!
I’m irate! I’m an avid BYU fan living in Washington. I don’t get to see the games. I’m losing interest in the other MWC teams because I can’t watch the games that are important to the conference standings. I’m starting to become a PAC-10 fan (Maybe they would take some of the MWC teams and form another super conference?) I don’t blame comcast, DISH, or DirecTV. I put the blame squarely on one person - The commissioner of the conference, Craig Thompson! He should be fired over this debaucle!
He talked this deal up like it was going to make the conference so visible nationwide. Well, he came from the Sunbelt conference and he has the MountainWest on the road to visibility just as the sunbelt is - can anyone even name a team from the sunbelt off the top of their head? Well, that’s where the MWC will be in two years.
Craig Thompson has taken the football in this conference to new lows. We have 3 bowl games.. and two of those are so new that 99 percent of the country doesn’t know that they exist. The best thing for the BYU football program would be that the MWC folds and so does CSTV/The Mtn.
So, Mr. Thompson… you got your “regional sports network.” The rest of the country is following conferences that have games available on a regional and a national basis. I’m not sure what you are after with your sports programs… regional champions?? Good for you. I’m sure it will make the headlines when you can crown a “champion of the intermountain west.” The rest of the country.. and even the fans in your own “region” will be much more interested in what is going on in the other conferences.. SEC, Big8, Big10, PAC10,… even the BigEast, WAC, and ConferenceUSA. I’m sure there is a whole contingent of fans that will be focused on the MWC… and the Sunbelt.
Thanks for taking programs that were once visible on a national basis (BYU, TCU, Utah) and flushing them down the crapper.
Who is making the money on this tv deal. Id like the commissiioner to explain how much he put in his pocket on this deal.
This whole MWC season is down the drain as far as I’m concerned, and guess what? I found other things to do! I can listen to CSU on local AM radio - as good or better than the ESPN coverage was, as the announcers actaully know the team.
The MWC needs to figure out - if they don’t make it easy for viewers, we’ll just go elsewhere. Obvioulsy someone thinks many of us are going to pay extra for MWC on TV - HA!