MWC signs $82 million CSTV deal

College Sports Television network promises the Mountain West Conference it will quadruple national telecasts in basketball and football and provide significant coverage to 17 other sports within two years.

CSTV has 700 days to get in a position to deliver. That is when the MWC's contract with ESPN expires. CSTV's bid of $82 million over seven years more than doubles the existing financial package by ESPN and will mean more than $1 million per year to each MWC school.

"The board of directors felt we needed excellent exposure but sensitivity to fans and the student athlete and we needed to enter into a direct partnership that provides that," BYU president Cecil Samuelson said Thursday during a press conference staged by the MWC and CSTV. "We are excited with this agreement."

ESPN refused to match CSTV's bid for MWC rights during negotiations this summer.

CSTV executive vice president Chris Bevilacqua told reporters Thursday his cable network was the fastest growing program provider in the country. While he could not name specific markets where CSTV currently provides programming within the MWC boundaries, he promised in two years the coverage would be extensive after new agreements are formed and he would personally deliver current market names to the media upon request.

That coverage would include partnerships beyond current ties with Comcast, Direct TV, and Time Warner Cable. Future growth could involve agreements with Cox, the main cable provider to the MWC's largest markets in Las Vegas and San Diego.

"We are very excited about the possibilities and growth," MWC commissioner Craig Thompson said. "The agreement incorporates all conference-related media and marketing rights, including all TV, national over-the-air and satellite radio, video-on-demand, Internet streaming, online and broadband platforms and other technology that hasn't even been invented yet."

For instance, in the Utah market, CSTV could involve a partnership with a sports provider like SportsWest, USD-TV and local affiliates already contractually tied to covering MWC sports. Bevilacqua confirmed during Thursday's teleconference with reporters that JetBlue executive Dave Checketts, the former Utah Jazz and New York Knicks general manager, is playing a chief role in the MWC agreement and has been a key negotiator.

When asked if CSTV had coverage broad enough to match coverage given by ESPN's estimated 90 million viewers, Bevilacqua said 25 years ago people thought ESPN was crazy for launching a 24-hour sports network. "CSTV is growing, announcing new agreements every week."

He said CSTV's agreements and distributors are now in 52 million homes and expanding.