The mtn was available in about 10-12 million homes when the net went off the air in '12MOUNTAIN WEST
The Mountain West Conference launched the mtn in '06, and though it last only six years, the channel was the "first-ever conference network for linear television" and first to broadcast games on Facebook and Twitter with "millions of impressions on some early games," according to MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson. The MWC, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, has always been "willing to try something that’s different and that works and then when it doesn’t work," it has been "willing to admit." Thompson notes following the creation of the mtn, "everybody thought it was going to be ESPN Ocho or something and that there would be 70 million people." However, that was "never the intention." The original cap size for the mtn was "about four or five million" and when the net concluded it was in 10-12 million homes, which is "similar to where the Pac-12 Network is today, so it far exceeded expectations." Thompson: "Initially, people wanted it and couldn’t get it, which wasn’t a bad thing. But they were very frustrated because it wasn’t on DirecTV or Dish. It ultimately got on DirecTV and the takeaway would be maybe a little more patience and persistence, and if we could have had some membership support to say, ‘Write your congressman, write your cable carrier, how come you’re not carrying this particular network because I really want it,’ and it was cents on the dollar.” The “distribution issues probably, as much as anything, caused the demise" of the mtn. It was a "fantastic network with premium programming and great exposure for all the sports" ("Mountain West Commissioner 20th Season Special," MWC, 8/13).
