The Mountain West Conference announced new media rights deals with CBS Sports and FOX Sports, reportedly worth a combined $270 million over the next six years.
Beginning in 2020-21, the six-year agreements will include men’s basketball and football rights. CBS Sports continues as the primary rightsholder for Mountain West as it has since 2006, while FOX Sports replaces ESPN as the conference’s secondary media partner.
“FOX Sports is pleased to add the Mountain West to our roster of top-tier collegiate athletics partnerships,” FOX Sports President, National Networks, Mark Silverman said in the press release. “We look forward to showcasing these exceptional programs, coaches and student-athletes in the years to come.”
FOX Sports will carry a full schedule of football and men’s basketball games from the MWC. The conference’s new media partner will also have exclusive rights for Boise State home football games and the Mountain West Football Championship.
Continuing as the Mountain West’s primary media partner, CBS Sports will carry at least 23 football games and 32 men’s basketball contests each year, including the conference championship.
“Given both the strength of the Mountain West Conference and success of our partnership over the past 15 years, continuing our long-term relationship with the conference was a priority for us,” said Dan Weinberg, EVP, Programming, CBS Sports. “Retaining the conference’s top games for CBS Sports Network is important and builds upon our already strong schedule. We look forward to an exciting future with the conference in the years ahead.”
The addition of FOX Sports as the Mountain West’s secondary media partner means the end of their agreement with ESPN.
ESPN began serving as the MW’s primary broadcaster when the conference launched in 1999. After eight years, ESPN was replaced by a combination of CBS Sports, Versus and The Mountain. They came back into the picture in 2012 after The Mountain folded and continued to be the MW’s secondary rightsholder for the last seven years.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here