CSTV, MountainWest Conference launch regional network

In a historic step for college sports and the latest sign that niches work, CSTV and the MountainWest Conference today took the wraps off of a new regional sports network that will be dedicated to a single intercollegiate athletic conference.

The mtn or MountainWest Sports Network will debut this summer and carry its first live event on Saturday, Sept. 2 when Utah State faces off against Wyoming. In the months following it will carry 36 MWC football games, 150 basketball games and more than 200 men’s and women’s Olympic sports contests. Expect conference championships this season and a myriad of other conference and region specific sports programming to also be included.

In addition to telecasts on the MountainWest Sports Network, bonus games will also air in local markets, resulting in the entire MWC football schedule being televised.

In addition to the comprehensive football schedule, the network will feature programming blanketing the entire playing field throughout Mountain West communities, including comprehensive coverage of the 19 MWC men’s and women’s sports, local high school sports, Olympic sports, education and lifestyle content and original programming from the member institutions. Shows will tap into the local sports culture with features on athletes, coaches, cheerleaders and coverage of locker room talks, pep rallies and much more.

“The launch of The mtn. later this summer is a huge breakthrough in sports programming and will completely change the way fans stay connected with the teams, rivalries and pageantry of the Mountain West Conference,” said Chris Bevilacqua, CSTV Regional Networks president. “The Mountain West Conference is a terrific partner and together, we’re providing fans a super regional network offering unparalleled access to each and every local sports community within the Mountain West region.”

“This announcement has been two years in the making,” said MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson. “From inception, the backbone of Mountain West Conference coverage has been programming on our own regional network. We are thrilled to offer this unprecedented exposure to our fans.”

In addition to the Mountain West Conference football games broadcast for television on The mtn. – MountainWest Sports Network, MWC football games will be available in other formats, including online via CSTV.com’s broadband product, high definition, video-on-demand and wireless.