June 11, 2008

DIRECTV Launching MountainWest Sports Network Aug. 27

The first network launched to exclusively cover an NCAA conference will be on DirecTV channel 616 starting on Aug. 27, in time to kickoff the conference's 10th season.

The channel will be on Choice packages and above in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and the cities of Dallas/Fort Worth and San Diego.

Elsewhere it will be available with DirecTV's sports pack.

Finally, I will get to watch MWC games here in Panama City Florida.

This, combined with the deal already worked out with the second network to exclusively cover an NCAA conference, sets a precedent for future conference networks. They will be in choice packages for the region they represent and in sport packages outside that region.

This model could work well for cable companies, but here politics appears to be playing a large role. Comcast is to blame for the contractual tangle and price war. On the one hand they want to avoid paing high prices for the Big Ten Network and on the other they want high prices for MountainWest Sports. They can't have it both ways.

Comments:

DIRECTV Launching MountainWest Sports Network Aug. 27
The first network launched to exclusively cover an NCAA conference will be on DirecTV channel 616 starting on Aug. 27, in time to kickoff the conference's 10th season. The channel will be on Choice packages and above in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and the cities of Dallas/Fort Worth and San Diego. Elsewhere it will be available with DirecTV's sports pack. Finally, I will get to watch MWC games here in Panama City Florida. This, combined with the deal already worked out with the second network to exclusively cover an NCAA conference, sets a precedent for future conference networks. They will be in choice packages for the region they represent and in sport packages outside that region. This model could work well for cable companies, but here politics appears to be playing a large role. Comcast is to blame for the contractual tangle and price war. On the one hand they want to avoid paing high prices for the Big Ten Network and on the other they want high prices for MountainWest Sports. They can't have it both ways.