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StumbleRon Kantowski:
Mountain West’s TV strategy: Remote control hide-and-seek
Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Sun Coverage
Beyond the Sun
When I think of the great disasters of modern television history, the first one that pops into mind is “My Mother the Car” starring Jerry Van Dyke. The second one that pops into mind is the Mountain West Conference’s current TV deal.
I still don’t know what the MWC presidents were thinking a couple of years ago when they elected not to re-up with ESPN so they could start their own TV network. But I am certain that your mother could have negotiated a better deal, even were she relegated to speaking through the radio of a 1928 Model T.
It took years but you can finally pull in most of the games, at least if you have a fat wallet and a TV Guide the size of William “Cannon” Conrad. The Mountain West is college football’s answer to “Seinfeld” reruns, with the exception that a lot of people still watch “Seinfeld” reruns. But, like Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine, you can get MWC games on practically every channel on the dial.
• You can get them on The Mtn.
• And ESPN.
• And Fox Sports West.
• And Fox Sports.
• And Versus.
• And ESPN2.
• And CBS College Sports.
•And the Big Ten Network.
• And ESPN U.
• And Fox College Sports.
And that’s just in September. I kid you not. Mountain West games will appear on 10 different networks during the first month of the football season.
That is, unless you are a DirecTV subscriber.
Unless some last-minute deal is worked out before Monday, dish owners are going to encounter technical difficulty beyond their control in tuning in Mountain West games on Versus. It’ll be like “The Outer Limits.” You won’t be able to control the horizontal or the vertical because DirecTV this week said it will no longer carry Versus when its current agreement expires Aug. 31.
Some of the marquee games in the Mountain West — Texas at Wyoming, Florida State at BYU, Air Force at Utah, TCU at BYU — have been farmed out to Versus. So what, many UNLV fans might say. I don’t give a whit about Texas at Wyoming.
But they may give two whits on Halloween night when the Rebels travel to TCU. Trick or treat? You get a stale popcorn ball, UNLV fans. If you own a satellite dish, I hope you enjoy watching some guy build an addition onto his ranch home on the Home & Garden channel, because I’m afraid that’s all you are going to get.
By the end of the season, TCU fans will probably have the skills to build two additions onto their homes as four Horned Frogs games are ticketed for Versus.
Robert Mercer, director of public relations for DirecTV, told the Los Angeles Times that “Versus’ overall ratings are poor and have not increased nearly enough to justify what we’re paying them, let alone the significant increase they’re asking for.”
Ouch! When it comes to adding insult to injury, that’s like Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield’s ear, then whispering in what’s left of it that his mother wears army boots.
I can’t decide what’s worse: The fact that eight Mountain West football games — and about an equal number during basketball season — may not be available to DirecTV subscribers; or, that even if they were, hardly anybody would be watching.
According to Nielsen ratings, Versus is averaging 3,000 more viewers at any given time since reinventing itself from its Outdoor Life Network origin. Yet on DirecTV, Versus ranks only 61st among 74 English-advertising supported cable networks.
That’s like broadcasting games out of Wayne and Garth’s basement. It’s got to be the worst example of exposing your product since that guy streaked across the stage at the Academy Awards.
Now you know why New Mexico is having trouble recruiting running backs from Texas.
I keep going back to what Kirk Herbstreit, the ESPN college football analyst, said when somebody asked him what he thought about Air Force a couple of years ago.
“I dunno,” Herbstreit said. “I don’t get that channel.”
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So now I need BOTH Comcast and DirecTV to watch Rebels games in my faroff place where nobody gives two whits about the Mountain West.
Hope the games are on the Internet. I'm not paying either of the louts a dime.
For those of you who are interested, I will be making flip books of each and every game for those of you who do not get the games.
Ya, hopefully someone will be streaming on justin.tv
Reagan, flip books? I don't know what that is. Does that include video of the game?
Nice work, K., although I think you are being unfairly generous to the MWC - My Mother the Car was nowhere near as bad as the MWC's TV deal.
BJ and the Bear? Maybe. But definitely not My Mother the Car.
--- Rain: Save your TV money for an umbrella.
--- Reagan: Pretty funny.
--- Lenny: If you were as old as me, you would know what a flip book is. :)
--- NYR: You're killin' me with that BJ and the Bear reference. (Actually, My Mother the Car was voted the second-worst TV program of all time, behind the Jerry Springer Show.) Have you got your resume together yet?
The late, great Sen. Ted Kennedy used to love "My Mother The Car." When we lived nextdoor to him, we would hear him singing along with the TV show's theme song. Hearing him sing, "a 1928 Porter, that's my mother dear, she helps me through everything I do and I'm so glad she's here" was heartwarming. Two years later, he hit on my girlfriend in a bar and I put him in a chokehold until the bouncers threw me out.
Sport's!
PS The 1967 syndicated game show, "Treasure Island" was the most lame-o on the boob tube, ever. The big prize was a Krakus Polish ham that you could get at Lucky's for something like $3
Tool's!
The MTN is not carried on Dish Network yet, so Rebel fans like myself who have Dish Network satellite cannot watch the Rebels games that are on the MTN.
Hopefully Dish Network carries the MTN by the time basketball season starts
Boo hoo. The writer sounds like he's about 112 years old.
I don't feel bad for him if he can't figure out the channels. Maybe he should get someone younger to help him. I'm sure there some charity groups that can assist the elderly with their TVs.
News flash. The Mountain West Conference DOES NOT have control over the broadcast rights for road games, genius.
Every league appears on around 10 networks in the first month.
If we were still with the 4 letter network, UNLV would get ZERO games broadcast. And if we got lucky and they picked up one, it would be on espnU on a Tuesday night.
And the Versus deal will be worked out soon. So step off the ledge.
Like Obama says, Ron K., I am fired up and ready to go!!
Gotta love that post above - "The MWC DOES NOT have control over the broadcast rights for road games, genius"
No compost, Sherlock. Did it ever occur to you that maybe THAT'S THE PROBLEM??!!
What kind of moronic conference allows its member institutions to enter contracts to play road games where there is NO CONTROL OVER THE BROADCAST RIGHTS??
That's called a crappy deal. And you only wind up with a crappy deal if you agree to one.
Next AD better understand that, cause if he/she doesn't, the athletic department is facing insolvency.
Which, actually, wouldn't be a bad thing as a bankruptcy filing would at least allow UNLV to reject its horrible TV contract ... :)
--- True: I'm still trying to figure out how to program my VCR. All I'm getting is a clock flashing midnight.
--- NYR: We need you -- now. Maybe your first act as AD will be to get the UNLV-UNR football game on TV, as this deal orchestrated by the MWC and its constituents does not allow for it.
Sufferin', I hereby dub thee Skip Bayless of the LVSun; i.e., create an asenine opinion no matter what has been said in the past, just as long as the opinion is a severe minority view.
ROFL...you are so right reagan!
Ron, I don't care what talking head from ESPN says what. Their word will always include disparraging comments about the competition. The deal is crap, but there's one surefire way out of obscurity...like Adrian said, "WIN!"
Sufferin, ya never cease to amaze. Classic entertainment outta you.
Looks like the RMAC has even got a better deal then the MWC.
GO STANGS!!!
How do you know it's flashing "midnight" and not "noon?"