The Mtn. network has been expanding its coverage over the past year to include parts of East Texas, Atlanta and across the New England area; those areas one must subscribe to the sports package, but the channel is an option. Well if you live in San Diego and have Time Warner then you are out of luck. Time Warner is well-known for playing hard ball and still do not have an agreement to carry the NFL Network, so odds of getting a deal done with the Mtn. seem like a long shot.
Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson is finally publicly speaking out about the frustration about Time Warner, becase he feels the deal is fair:
If Time Warner decides not to accept it, it will mark the sixth straight season that about 200,000 Time Warner subscribers in the northern half of San Diego County will not be able to watch several Aztec games on TV. Cox Cable - San Diego's other major cable provider - has carried the Mtn. since late 2006 and has about 500,000 local subscribers.
"It's a monopoly, and it's frustrating," said Thompson, who was in San Diego Thursday for a meeting with students. "It's frustrating for Aztec fans and frustrating for us as administrators. We just want an answer... Don't be stringing me along or be unresponsive."
Thompson said the network's proposal is similar to what 27 other cable systems and DirectTV are paying. He said it amounts to less than a dollar per subscriber, though he said terms are confidential.
A Time Warner spokeswoman declined to comment Thursday.
Thompson also added that he has not received any contact regarding the latest proposal in months. It is likely that if you have Time Warner in San Diego you will not get to see the six Aztec games that will be broadcast on the Mtn. from the comfort of their home. I guess cancel Time Warner and go with Cox or DirecTV if that is an option in your area.
This may become a bigger issue in the upcoming months since Time Warner is the main cable company in Hawai'i with Oceanic and they traditionally have done pay-per-view games for Hawai'i football.
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