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Blog Entry 11 of 31 John's blog about EVERYTHING
This is a weekly (or more frequent) blog about what I feel like talking about. Hopefully it's local, but anything is better than nother.

Blog Url: http://denver.yourhub.com/~AdamsCountySportsBlog

This Mtn. is only a mole hill

Contributed by: John Eisel   on 10/11/2006

A few weeks ago, I spent my Saturday afternoon driving up and down Tower Road trying to catch the Wyoming-Boise State football game on television.

I knew it might be problematic. The game was being shown on the Mtn., an ambitious channel that showcases the Mountain West Conference, which includes local teams Colorado State, Air Force, and, of course, Wyoming. The Mtn., which is partially owned by Comcast, is part of the the cable provider's extended cable package, but isn't on satellite dish yet.

I went to the local sports bar. Sorry, but they have DirectTV. I went to three other restaurant/bars. Nope, all of them have DirectTV.

I wound up "watching" the game at home on simulcast, which is basically a graphic replay of everything that's going on. It's great - but not quite television.

I've watched content on the Mtn. and I love it. It's it of the quality of ESPN? No, but it's definitely a step-up from some local broadcast channel.

At least Denver gets the Mtn. I can't say the same for the San Diego and Las Vegas markets, which are controlled by Cox. The channel and Cox have been negotiating for months, and according to both sides, the other side is being unreasonable. Most of the other markets in the conference at least get it in someway.

It doesn't help that both Nevada-Las Vegas and San Diego State have been lousy this season, combining for one win. I have a feeling there would be more pressure to carry the station if the Rebels and Aztecs looked like conference contenders.

One thing that did burn me up was the lack of access to local stations. When the Mountain West Conference was tied into ESPN, you could see some of the games on the local independent channels - channels 20 and 53 mostly. Now it's the Mtn. or the highway. The very least Comcast could do was show some games on their Channel 3 station.

This appeared to be a great deal for the Mountain West Conference in the beginning. The money was better. The playing times would be better (i.e. no Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday or ...God forbid ... Sunday games). The Mtn. would allow some of the non-money sports to be shown on television, hopefully boosting recruiting for those sports.

But what good is a channel if no one can see it?

This can still be a great deal for the Mountain West Conference. Fansare notoriously fickle on who they love and hate.But until Cox, DirectTV and DishNetwork come around, or unless local access is granted, the conference will be in a near blackout.

Link to find out how to get the Mtn. in your area: http://themtn.cstv.com/how/


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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

John Eisel

Denver , COLORADO

John Eisel has posted 31 blog entries and 46 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. John Eisel's average blog rating is 4.93.
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