The Mountain West Conference and DirecTV Sports Networks have reached a multiyear deal for Root Sports Rocky Mountain to carry MWC football and men's basketball games. The channel will produce and televise about 10 football games annually and a minimum of 25 MWC intra-conference and non-conference men's basketball games, starting with the '13-14 season (Root Sports). In Las Vegas, Taylor Bern noted the new deal, combined with the conference's CBS and ESPN deals, means "about 54 football league games are slated to appear over the three networks, which includes both the namesake stations and smaller networks like ESPNU and CBS Sports Network." There also are "a handful of games that will go on other networks." In addition to "what specific games will air on ROOT Sports, the league is expected this offseason to announce the implementation of the Mountain West Digital Network." The new platform "will be another way for athletics departments to potentially create revenue through advertising" (LASVEGASSUN.com, 5/15). In San Diego, Stefanie Loh noted Root Sports "isn't available on Cox or Time Warner in San Diego, so unless the company manages to license the games to a local station," San Diego State Univ. fans "might have trouble watching" some of their games (UTSANDIEGO.com, 5/15).
