From Deseret News archives:
Sorry, but U. vs. Y. is only on The mtn.
It won't be simulcast on Versus. Or on CBS C. It won't get moved to CBS (which is half-owner of The mtn. through its ownership of CBS C.) It won't be sold to any other television network on broadcast or cable.
Period. Exclamation point.
Under terms of the Mountain West Conference's television contract, The mtn. is guaranteed both the BYU-Utah and Colorado State-Wyoming games.
(At the risk of offending our Ram and Cowboy friends, let me just say — huh?!?)
There is a logical reason for BYU-Utah to be on The mtn. It's part of an attempt at long-term gain through short-term pain.
Is there anyone with any sort of rooting interest in Utah, BYU or any of the other seven Mountain West Conference schools who doesn't think it was a good thing for The mtn. to make it onto DirecTV this season? It's certainly not the be-all, end-all of TV deals, but at least it gives access to any fan anywhere who has the money to subscribe and a place to put a satellite dish.
The BYU-Utah game is on The mtn. at least in part because of that DirecTV deal.
DirecTV, not surprisingly, is interested in increasing its subscriber base and getting those subscribers to pay as much as possible for programming. (And, outside of the MWC "footprint," subscribers pay more to get The mtn.)
The Utes-Cougars game is the kind of "exclusive content" that DirecTV wants. In theory, at least, if you can't get the game anywhere else, you'll have to subscribe.
That same theory is being used in negotiations with a variety of cable systems as well as satellite provider Dish Network.
(Yes, negotiations are still going on with Dish. And, no, there's no news to report.)
Is this an ideal situation? Obviously not. But it's not like putting Utah-BYU on The mtn. is the total insanity that some fans would suggest.
I know there are fans out there who still want to argue that leaving ESPN was a bad idea. But there's not point in fighting that battle again because it's over. The MWC has to make the best of the situation it's now in.
And if you think this sort of thing is easy, just look at the mighty National Football League, which is still fighting with cable giants like Comcast and Time Warner but has yet to achieve wide distribution of the NFL Network.
At the very least, the BYU-Utah game is looked upon as something so valuable that it could sway cable and satellite systems.
(Although, at the risk of offending our Ram and Cowboy friends, let me just say — huh?!?)
THERE IS ONE GOOD THING about the Mountain West Conference's current television set-up.
