ROOT SPORTS is official regional TV partner of Mountain West

The Mountain West has struck a multi-year deal with the DirecTV-owned ROOT SPORTS -- specifically this is ROOT SPORTS Rocky Mountain -- to be the official regional television partner for the league. The contract length or monetary value of the deal has not been disclosed.

The channel will broadcast at approximately 10 football and at a minimum 25 basketball games, all will be shown in high definition, starting in the 2013-14 season. This more than likely means that Altitude is not going to be able to broadcast a few games like the network did last year.

Also, NBC Sports let its contract expire with the Mountain West, so they are almost certainly not going to broadcast any football or basketball games.

This deal between ROOT SPORTS and the Mountain West will reach about 2.5 million people across nine states, and maybe more depending on if one subscribes to an out of market sports pack, you know for those displaced New Mexico fans living out on the East Coast.

For those who have Root Sports Northwest, they will be out of luck for watching any Mountain West football or basketball, unless Boise State is involved. For football, their 2013 games are all tied up with ESPN, CBS Sports Network or non-conference games.

Getting 10 additional games will certainly help the league get more exposure. With Boise State out of the loop, look for Utah State, Colorado State, New Mexico, UNLV and Wyoming to fill out the bulk of those 10 additional games.

The 25 basketball games is a good amount of games and will definitely provide a lot more coverage for the league. That amount is eight more than ROOT SPORTS aired last year, and almost shores up the loss of 12 games that NBC Sports Network aired last year.

Overall, this is a good move for the conference to get as many games on television as possible.