As refreshing as it was to see Louisville go down, I don't like the Big East. TCU plays in the Mountain West, making me a fan of that conference. This proves problematic when I want to watch the conference's teams play on TV. League leader BYU played Wyoming on Thursday, but because ESPN no longer has an agreement with the MWC, the game was unavailable in Texas. (The game was a blowout, but I was looking forward to seeing at least the first five minutes.) It's all because of this new arrangement the MWC has with CSTV. Commissioner Craig Thompson and the league's other movers and shakers didn't like the way ESPN dictated teams' schedules. So they turned to CSTV, which, with the help of Comcast, started the mtn., a network dedicated to the Mountain West. Several problems have surfaced since the mtn. went on the air. ( I understand some people actually have the channel on their cable systems.)
Access is the primary problem. When exposure is the main issue a league faces, it cannot afford to abandon a trusted network (ESPN) in favor of an experiment, no matter how grand the idea.
Given the MWC's situation, there are two choices for teams such as BYU and TCU. One makes sense, although it requires league action; the other is a last resort. Regardless, both of the following should be on the table:
- The league and its broadcast partners should consider allowing local stations to pick up games in markets that don't receive the mtn. or CSTV. This is a common-sense solution to a problem created by broken promises and overly optimistic projections. But this would require the Mountain West leadership to receive an injection of common sense, since it is in short supply at league headquarters.
- Schools such as TCU (which has no access in its back yard) should consider suing the MWC for breach of contract. It was widely understood that the new TV deal would benefit the league's teams. For that to happen, a TV network must exist. The mtn. is hardly a network, regional or otherwise. For the league to argue differently is horribly disingenuous.
The second option, is not unreasonable. The problem with it is if the plaintiffs are successful, they will have alienated the league, meaning a new TV contract will need to be negotiated. So the answer might be a combination of the two and look something like this:
An agreement to allow local TV stations pick up games of teams without access to the mtn. and/or CSTV, with the understanding that the teams' obligation to the league contract dissolves if its region is not granted access to the the networks by a certain date. This effectively would mean the mtn. would dissolve and the MWC would be back at the negotiating table. ESPN might not come to the rescue, but at least the conference leadership would realize what the fans have known for months -- that the MWC does not have the appeal to make an exclusive network succeed.
Clarification: CSTV, which carried the BYU-Wyoming game, is available on a limited basis in Texas.
2 comments:
Good Article!!
Game was on CSTV last night. I did the "BYU FAN Work around" with my DirecTV. The day before the game, I added the $12/month "Sports" pack on DirecTV, which gives me CSTV. Knowing that BYU/Utah on Nov. 25th is also on CSTV, I'll keep it for 1 month, meaning I can watch 2 BYU games for $6 a piece. I think I get TCU's last home game in that package, as well. Another way of doing it is to order the $12 package, watch the game, and then call and cancel it, paying only for 1 day (less than a buck). They normally charge a $10 downgrade fee, but I've heard it is easy to talk the phone rep out of it.
Anyway - BYU took their win against TCU and just rolled with it. It is fun to see them look like the Cougs of old. Although, I know you wanted TCU to win the game, I think TCU needs BYU to be back to their old selves. If TCU, BYU and Utah are strong every year, that would make a really strong conference. I'm still holding out hope that the Big East's automatic BCS birth will eventually become an auto birth for the highest ranked team in the mid-majors.
Still can't get the mtn on DirecTV, but at least when a game is on CSTV, I know how to get it now.
BC
You can get CSTV in Dallas/Fort Worth on satellite and therefore could have watched the game last night if you really wanted to. To say you couldn't get it is inaccurate, but so is the rest of your story so this comes as no suprise. You wouldn't want facts to get in the way of a good story. FYI..TCU also has more national football appearances this year than it ever has had! Five games on VERSUS (over 70 million homes) and one on CSTV. If the league would have stayed with ESPN, TCU would have had 2 or 3 and those would have been on Tuesday or Wednesday nights. It sounds like the BYU fan was creative and found a way to get the game last night instead of just giving up. mtn. isn't available on satellite yet, but should be by next football season. The question is...Is one year of growing pains worth 9 years of being able to watch more MWC games than ever before. ESPN deal would have been bad times and days for FB and Hoops for all seven years.
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