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The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network
MountainWest Sports Network
the mtn.
Launched	September 1, 2006
Owned by	Comcast (50%) CBS College Sports Network (50%)
Picture format	480i (SD) 1080i (HD)
Slogan	Where The West Is Won
Country	United States
Headquarters	Denver, Colorado
Sister channel(s)	CBS College Sports Network Versus
Website	http://www.themtn.tv
Availability
Satellite
DirecTV	616 (SD) 616-1 (HD, part time)
Cable
Available on many cable systems	Check local listings for channels

MountainWest Sports Network, informally known as The Mtn. (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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Programming

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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

[edit] 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.

[edit] Hosts and analysts

(past and present listed in alphabetical order)

• Anne Marie Anderson
• Roger Bailey
• James Bates
• Gary Bender
• Jon Berger
• Tammy Blackburn
• Dave Bollwinkel
• Rich Cellini
• Todd Christensen
• Joe Cravens
• Bill Doleman
• Mike Evans
• Marty Fletcher
• Blaine Fowler
• Amy Gant
• Akbar Gbaja-Biamila
• Courtney George
• Terri Goldberg
• Mark Knudson
• Sammy Linebaugh
• Andrea Lloyd
• Larry Mangino
• Amanda Mazey
• Beau Morgan
• Tim Neverett
• Glenn Parker
• Marius Payton
• Bill Riley
• Scott Sarra
• Ann Schatz
• Cash Sirois
• Molly Sullivan
• Natalie Vickers

[edit] Distribution

The Mtn. is currently available in all nine MWC markets, on the following 19 providers:

• Satellite
  • DirecTV (nationwide) - Available on Choice package inside the MWC, Sports Pack for the rest of the country
• Cable
  • All West Communications (Utah, Wyoming)
  • Bresnan (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming)
  • Cable ONE (Idaho, New Mexico)
  • CentraCom Interactive (Utah)
  • Comcast (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)
  • Cox (California, Nevada, Arizona)
  • Independent Cable Systems of Idaho (Idaho)
  • Manti Tele Communications Company (Utah)
  • MSTARmetro (Utah)
  • Project Mutual Telephone (Idaho)
  • Provo Cable (Utah)
  • Reliance Connects (Mesquite, Nevada)
  • 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)

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.^[1] Currently, DirecTV only carries the HD feed of the channel for certain football and basketball games.

On July 7, 2009, it was announced that Cox Cable will add the channel in Orange County, California and Arizona on August 1, 2009. ^[2]

[edit] Distribution controversy

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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". ^[3]

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.^[4]

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."^[5]

Since Time Warner Cable does not have a carriage agreement with The Mtn., it is unavailable on cable in 2 areas in MWC's market: The Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and a significant portion of San Diego County.

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.^{[citation needed]} 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."^{[citation needed]} These disputes are similar to those that Big Ten Network had its in first year on the air.

[edit] 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

[edit] 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)

[edit] The Mtn. HD

The Mtn. HD is a 1080i high definition simulcast of The Mtn. that launched on November 22, 2008 at 11:00 AM MT. The first show on the new HD version of the channel was MWC Football Saturday, followed by 2 football games in HD, first Colorado State at Wyoming, then the Brigham Young at Utah rivalry game.^[6]

The channel has announced that it will broadcast nine football games in HD between November 14-28, 2009. ^[7]

[edit] See also

• Mountain West Conference
• CBS College Sports Network - sister channel of MountainWest Sports Network
• Comcast SportsNet - sister channel of MountainWest Sports Network
• Big Ten Network - the only other one conference cable network
• ESPNU
• Fox College Sports

[edit] 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: