The day has finally come, August 27th, the Mountain West Sports Network goes nation wide on DirecTv channel 616, well kind of. Tomorrow The Mtn. launches in all the states of the league, local areas in Dallas/Fort Worth area, San Diego, and areas in nearby states which include Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska and others. If you live outside of these areas then you have to order the sports pack, and as of now it is not on Dish Network.
So, will I clear my schedule to watch the premier of the Mountain on DirecTv, ummmm no. I have seen the program they offer and the production value, which is next to nothing. Mainly I will be watching the live games and hope one day that the studio shows will improve along with the production value. Also, where is the high-definition for this season. That is what hurts because ever since having high def regular seems unacceptable to watch. Perhaps once the directv money starts flowing in they channel can move to high def, and get better production value.
Seriously this is a HUGE advancement for the league to increase its footprint and exposure nationally. The channel will still be an unkonwn to most across the country and not many people have the sports pack or the highest package that includes everything. One thing that I do know is that people who find football on will at least pay attention to it for a few minutes, and with the league being possibly its strongest ever and with BYU and Utah considered as BCS bowl participants maybe a few extra people will find their way to the channel