Mountain West Eyes DTC Streaming as New Revenue Path

[WYOFLETCH]

In an era where control may be just as valuable as cash, the Mountain West’s direct-to-consumer play could prove to be one of the most forward-looking moves in college athletics.

Mountain West Eyes DTC Streaming as New Revenue Path

By Luke Fletcher | Ft. Collins, CO As the college sports media landscape continues to evolve, the Mountain West Conference is positioning itself to take greater control of its digital future. Begin…

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[WYOFLETCH]

The service will introduce two pricing tiers, offering both monthly and annual subscription options. Early projections center on a $4.99 monthly entry point, positioning the Mountain West Conference (MW) app, powered by Kiswe as an affordable alternative for alumni, regional fans, and cord-cutters.

At that price, each subscriber would generate $59.88 annually. Even modest adoption could yield meaningful returns. Let’s look at the simple math:

• 150,000 subscribers generate roughly $9 million per year or about $900,000 per school.
• 300,000 subscribers approach $18 million annually, translating to $1.8 million per school.
• 500,000 subscribers create revenue at $30 million, per-school payout $3 million.
• 750,000 subscribers exceed $44 million per year, or more than $4.5 million per institution.

 

[WYOFLETCH]

Mountain West Living Alumni

San Jose St - 350K
UC-Davis - 312K
Grand Canyon - 311K
NIU - 226K
New Mexico - 200K
Hawaii - 160K
Wyoming - 158K
UNLV - 151K
UTEP - 134K
Nevada - 125K
NDSU - 104K
Air Force - 59K

 

[PorkerPoke]

The service will introduce two pricing tiers, offering both monthly and annual subscription options. Early projections center on a $4.99 monthly entry point, positioning the Mountain West Conference (MW) app, powered by Kiswe as an affordable alternative for alumni, regional fans, and cord-cutters.

At that price, each subscriber would generate $59.88 annually. Even modest adoption could yield meaningful returns. Let’s look at the simple math:

• 150,000 subscribers generate roughly $9 million per year or about $900,000 per school.
• 300,000 subscribers approach $18 million annually, translating to $1.8 million per school.
• 500,000 subscribers create revenue at $30 million, per-school payout $3 million.
• 750,000 subscribers exceed $44 million per year, or more than $4.5 million per institution.

Thanks WYOFLETCH for the analysis. I would find even $10 a month to be an inexpensive good deal. This is the first year I didn’t do the ESPN+ subscription because I got all I wanted using the VeeSeeBox without paying $12.99 a month. I used to subscribe to espn+ for football and basketball seasons then drop it as most years Wyoming was on 2-3 times with OOC games and I also liked the option to watch a future opponent play.

Currently the ESPN DTC has multiple ways to get access with the unlimited at $29.99 and select plan at $11.99. The lower price doesn’t include the NFL, NBA and MLB as the primary difference. That makes the MWC at $4.99 a sweet deal for targeted games if you don’t want the extra stuff you don’t watch anyway.

Supposedly according to the canzano/wilner know it all guy’s, the pee12 was discussing the espn dtc but nothing has come about in that direction.

I am very likely to subscribe and Kiswe should substantially improve the streaming quality the current MWC app fails to deliver.

 

[Bryoming]

$5 a month is exactly where we need to be. I'll pay for that all day. Give me a $50/year deal and I'll never leave.

 

[springs_poke]

Same. And I'll likely watch the channel quite often when I just need something on, not really intently watching anything. And then that sometimes gets my attention. Used to do that with The Mountain, quite enjoyed that station, and was visionary.

 

[WYOFLETCH]

Thanks WYOFLETCH for the analysis. I would find even $10 a month to be an inexpensive good deal. This is the first year I didn’t do the ESPN+ subscription because I got all I wanted using the VeeSeeBox without paying $12.99 a month. I used to subscribe to espn+ for football and basketball seasons then drop it as most years Wyoming was on 2-3 times with OOC games and I also liked the option to watch a future opponent play.

Currently the ESPN DTC has multiple ways to get access with the unlimited at $29.99 and select plan at $11.99. The lower price doesn’t include the NFL, NBA and MLB as the primary difference. That makes the MWC at $4.99 a sweet deal for targeted games if you don’t want the extra stuff you don’t watch anyway.

Supposedly according to the canzano/wilner know it all guy’s, the pee12 was discussing the espn dtc but nothing has come about in that direction.

I am very likely to subscribe and Kiswe should substantially improve the streaming quality the current MWC app fails to deliver.

The Pac-12’s new football television package includes 49 games across eight schools, distributed as follows:

• 10 on CBS Sports Network
• 4 on CBS
• 22 on USA Network
• 13 on The CW

That total, 49 is significant. With eight football members, a typical season yields roughly six home games per school. That equals about 48 regular-season home games. Add the conference championship game and you’re right at 49.

In other words, if the package truly represents the conference’s full home inventory plus the title game, then every available football broadcast has already been placed on linear television. That leaves essentially zero exclusive live football inventory for a standalone direct-to-consumer (DTC) product. The Pac-12 Now app, under that structure, becomes a companion platform — highlights, authentication streaming, shoulder programming — not a primary distribution driver for live games.

The reason the ESPN & PAC12 talks have gone nowhere is because they do not have enough members to create enough inventory to get a deal done. With ESPN they would likely need to add Sac St and New Mexico St to get to 10. Even then ESPN might not get to the financial number that the Pac12 would want to make it worthwhile for ESPN. The Pac12 has overvalued themselves at every step thus far.

Who Won? Pac-12 all-in on linear TV. MWC leaves room to grow.

By Luke Fletcher | Ft. Collins, CO By the time the 2026 college football season kicks off, two western conferences will be operating under two very different media strategies. On paper, the rebuilt…

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