MountainWest Sports Joins DIRECTV

Viewers of DIRECTV will soon have more sports viewing options. News was recently announced that DIRECTV and the MountainWest Sports Network have reached an agreement for The Mtn. to be launched on DirecTV. As fans are already aware, The MountainWest Sports Network; commonly referred to as The Mtn., premiered in September of 2006 as the first network that was completely devoted to a college athletic conference. The Mtn. covers annual events from the Division I Mountain West Conference including basketball, football and even Olympic sports. In addition, pre and post game analysis as well as news programming and featured programming regarding MWC athletics are covered.

The Mtn. will be launched by DIRECTV at some time during 2008; however, it is expected to air absolutely no later than the first of September. It is anticipated that broadcasting will begin sometime in the late summer, which will give viewers the opportunity to begin seeing events just in time for the 2008 fall football season. At the current time programming package information and channel position have not been made available; however, as the date of the launch grows closer, this information is expected to be released.

The Mountain West Conference was created in 1999 and since that time it has become well known for a strong dedication to intercollegiate athletic excellence. Nine Division I institutions are included in the Mountain West Conference. These institutions include the University of New Mexico, the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado State University, Brigham Young University, San Diego State University, UNLV, TCU, the University of Wyoming and the University of Utah.

Viewers will gain the advantage to catch up on all of their favorite events, especially those from BYU, which the Mountain network has exclusive rights to broadcast. Fans of the network enjoy the fact that more live sporting events of the Mountain West Conference are covered by The Mtn. than any other network. In addition, in just the last few years, The Mtn. has become known to be home to some of the most experienced sports commentators currently on television. As a result, fans are able to enjoy highly specialized conference sports events. Prior to this time, The Mtn. was only carried by Comcast Cable and only Cox and Comcast cable subscribers were able to watch MWC team coverage on television.

Now subscribers to DIRECTV will have the opportunity to see more coverage of Mountain West Conference events than have ever previously been available. In fact, this deal will provide coverage to nearly 17 million more viewers. The deal is not only good news for viewers; however. The nine institutions that belong to the conference are expected to also benefit tremendously from the increased exposure.

The announcement comes as welcome news for fans who have long wished that The Mtn. was available as part of DIRECTV subscription. It is anticipated that DISH TV fans may be inspired to make the switch to DIRECTV in order to be able to pick up coverage of The Mtn. by DIRECTV.