Mountain West holds back TV details

CORONADO, Calif. — The Mountain West and CSTV reached an agreement with distributors to broadcast league sporting events, according to commissioner Craig Thompson, but details of just how far the coverage goes could not be explained.

The perplexing announcement by Thompson on Tuesday came with a guarantee — that the league's football games would be available within all MWC footprint cities by the start of the football season in 54 days. Thompson said he was legally bound to limit his discussion of the agreement to those simple details.

The Deseret Morning News, however, reported Tuesday that the forthcoming announcement will involve Comcast, the nation's largest cable provider.

Thompson said he had a personal drop-dead deadline of July 30 to finish adding distribution partners with CSTV and wouldn't be surprised if he had further news within four to five days.

The CSTV pact with the MWC is an $80 million deal that replaced a contract with ESPN. A selling point with the MWC for CSTV is keeping most of its football games on Saturdays. Thompson said 48 of 56 MWC games this fall will be on Saturday — avoiding mid-week and Friday broadcasts, which became routine on ESPN.

Thompson said the current agreement hammered out late Monday would cover half the MWC footprint. It is speculated that coverage would extend to all the markets but San Diego and Las Vegas. Thompson promised those other markets would be included in days to come.

For fans across the country who wonder what CSTV coverage means for them, Thompson said through cable and satellite subscription services, games should be available.

"The days of free television broadcasts are over," he said. "If you want to see college football on ESPN through Gameday, it's going to cost you $70. These days, those who want to see college football and basketball pay for it like you pay for your phone service — that's just the way it is.

"You may be able to pick up ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX with some rabbit ears and some tin foil on your TV set, but if you want programming and access to most sporting events, you will need to subscribe and pay."

Thompson said he envisions the day when the CSTV network should be part of a basic package — that people would not have to buy a premium service on their cable or satellite dish.

Frustrated that he could not deliver more detailed news about CSTV's coverage, Thompson said he had been holed up at the Coronado Marriott since his arrival on Saturday, making phone calls to legal counsel, university presidents and athletic directors.