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MWC TV Deal Announced

WYOFLETCH said:
That structure mirrors what ESPN has done with ESPN+ and what Fox is building with its new FoxONE DTC strategy. The industry is clearly moving toward hybrid linear + direct subscription models. The Mountain West isn’t acting out of desperation, it’s aligning with the broader media trend.
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We cannot compare entities that have NFL media rights to Tier 3 Mountain West inventory. Yes, streaming has a better future than linear, but we are marketing a niche product through a start-up brand (Kiswe), not leveraging the brand and technical equity of two of the biggest linear providers in the world.

WYOFLETCH said:
First, the Mountain West has already been paying to operate and produce content for a free app for years. Schools have been underwriting production for games that generated zero direct revenue. In 2025, institutions are still covering those costs while fans watch at no charge.
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I agree completely, but we should recognize that the likely revenue is immaterial, and not buy into the messaging bullshit from Gloria that this provides league members "unlimited upside." Sure, if all Ohio State fans switch tomorrow to UW we may see significant coin. And to the extent that something is better than nothing, I agree. The fact is that the streaming revenue from this deal will not move the needle for a department with a $50 million+ annual budget. This streaming component was a band-aid on a mediocre deal - nothing more. It was Gloria recognizing that the Tier 3 rights have almost no value and laying out a roadmap for the member schools to try to get something for it while also creating a cute talking point for the PR rollout.

WYOFLETCH said:
Will this turn Wyoming into a media powerhouse overnight? Of course not. But going from paying to stream for free → to potentially earning something while reducing operational burden is a rational evolution. Hey lets say Wyoming nets $500K on top of the $3.5M they will get all of a sudden they are getting $4M from TV revenue. not just $3.5M...
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This is the main misnomer in this entire production. Wyoming is not set to receive anywhere close to $3.5 million annually from the new media deal. Wyoming will receive $3.5 million from the conference every year until 2032, funded in part by the media deal, but also in large part by funds withheld from the departing PAC members to satisfy the terms in the GOR. I have reason to believe that the media revenue ONLY will total about $2 million annually to the legacy members like Wyoming.

To the extent this media deal preserved the MW as a going concern until 2032, it was a good deal. Anyone who believes it is anything more, or that it will provide revenue in 2027 for Wyoming greater than we received in 2025, is fooling themselves.

This is subsistence level revenue for Wyoming, nothing more.
 
TheCup said:
We cannot compare entities that have NFL media rights to Tier 3 Mountain West inventory. Yes, streaming has a better future than linear, but we are marketing a niche product through a start-up brand (Kiswe), not leveraging the brand and technical equity of two of the biggest linear providers in the world.


I agree completely, but we should recognize that the likely revenue is immaterial, and not buy into the messaging bullshit from Gloria that this provides league members "unlimited upside." Sure, if all Ohio State fans switch tomorrow to UW we may see significant coin. And to the extent that something is better than nothing, I agree. The fact is that the streaming revenue from this deal will not move the needle for a department with a $50 million+ annual budget. This streaming component was a band-aid on a mediocre deal - nothing more. It was Gloria recognizing that the Tier 3 rights have almost no value and laying out a roadmap for the member schools to try to get something for it while also creating a cute talking point for the PR rollout.


This is the main misnomer in this entire production. Wyoming is not set to receive anywhere close to $3.5 million annually from the new media deal. Wyoming will receive $3.5 million from the conference every year until 2032, funded in part by the media deal, but also in large part by funds withheld from the departing PAC members to satisfy the terms in the GOR. I have reason to believe that the media revenue ONLY will total about $2 million annually to the legacy members like Wyoming.

To the extent this media deal preserved the MW as a going concern until 2032, it was a good deal. Anyone who believes it is anything more, or that it will provide revenue in 2027 for Wyoming greater than we received in 2025, is fooling themselves.

This is subsistence level revenue for Wyoming, nothing more.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, you’re absolutely right. Wyoming should probably just fold it up, head to FCS, maybe even DII while we’re at it. Clearly the only logical response to “subsistence-level revenue” is to burn the whole thing down and start fresh in the RMAC. It’s all Gloria’s fault anyway, right?

IIWII I’ll just have to disagree with you. Let’s walk through the doom spiral for a second.

You’re upset that we can’t compare Mountain West Tier 3 inventory to NFL-backed media giants. Correct. We can’t. That’s kind of the point. We don’t have NFL-level leverage. Neither does the rebuilt Pac-12. And yet somehow the expectation is that Wyoming should magically negotiate like Ohio State.

Based on the Pac-12’s new deal and the Mountain West deal, even if the two leagues had merged, both would still be paid less than the American. So if your baseline is “we should be making AAC money,” then yes, disappointment was inevitable no matter what logo was on the contract.


Now let’s talk about this “band-aid” Kiswe piece. You’re right, it probably won’t suddenly dump $10 million into a $50M athletic budget. But what was the alternative? Keep the free app that Wyoming had to pay for every single year? Continue producing content, covering costs, and collecting exactly zero subscription revenue?

That makes total financial sense.

Or, crazy thought, partner with a platform, create a paid product, and at least generate something instead of nothing. “Subsistence-level revenue” is still revenue. And unlike 2025, it’s revenue the school can influence.

If the upside ends up modest? Fine. But saying it has no value because it doesn’t “move the needle” ignores that we were literally paying to distribute content for free before.

Should we have fired Gloria and joined CUSA instead? That would’ve really shown everyone. Even less money, less exposure, and zero flexibility. I bet we’d all enjoy that.

And yes, the $3.5M figure isn’t purely media revenue. We all understand that. Conference distributions are blended revenue streams. That’s how these things work. But pretending the media deal itself is meaningless because it isn’t SEC-level is just setting an impossible benchmark.

Here’s the reality:
  • The Mountain West preserved stability through 2032.
  • Schools aren’t paying to host their own free digital platform anymore.
  • There’s at least a path to incremental revenue instead of dead-end inventory.
  • And flexibility remains if the landscape shifts again.

No one is claiming this is a gold rush. It’s survival with optionality. Could it have been better? Sure. Everything could. But acting like it’s catastrophic because it doesn’t instantly change the athletic department’s balance sheet feels a little dramatic.

We’re not Ohio State. We never were.

But we’re also not required to torch the program because the check isn’t nine figures. Subsistence? Maybe. But compared to paying for your own free app and earning nothing?

That’s called progress.
 
WYOFLETCH said:
Oh yeah, you’re absolutely right. Wyoming should probably just fold it up, head to FCS, maybe even DII while we’re at it. Clearly the only logical response to “subsistence-level revenue” is to burn the whole thing down and start fresh in the RMAC. It’s all Gloria’s fault anyway, right?

IIWII I’ll just have to disagree with you. Let’s walk through the doom spiral for a second.

You’re upset that we can’t compare Mountain West Tier 3 inventory to NFL-backed media giants. Correct. We can’t. That’s kind of the point. We don’t have NFL-level leverage. Neither does the rebuilt Pac-12. And yet somehow the expectation is that Wyoming should magically negotiate like Ohio State.

Based on the Pac-12’s new deal and the Mountain West deal, even if the two leagues had merged, both would still be paid less than the American. So if your baseline is “we should be making AAC money,” then yes, disappointment was inevitable no matter what logo was on the contract.


Now let’s talk about this “band-aid” Kiswe piece. You’re right, it probably won’t suddenly dump $10 million into a $50M athletic budget. But what was the alternative? Keep the free app that Wyoming had to pay for every single year? Continue producing content, covering costs, and collecting exactly zero subscription revenue?

That makes total financial sense.

Or, crazy thought, partner with a platform, create a paid product, and at least generate something instead of nothing. “Subsistence-level revenue” is still revenue. And unlike 2025, it’s revenue the school can influence.

If the upside ends up modest? Fine. But saying it has no value because it doesn’t “move the needle” ignores that we were literally paying to distribute content for free before.

Should we have fired Gloria and joined CUSA instead? That would’ve really shown everyone. Even less money, less exposure, and zero flexibility. I bet we’d all enjoy that.

And yes, the $3.5M figure isn’t purely media revenue. We all understand that. Conference distributions are blended revenue streams. That’s how these things work. But pretending the media deal itself is meaningless because it isn’t SEC-level is just setting an impossible benchmark.

Here’s the reality:
  • The Mountain West preserved stability through 2032.
  • Schools aren’t paying to host their own free digital platform anymore.
  • There’s at least a path to incremental revenue instead of dead-end inventory.
  • And flexibility remains if the landscape shifts again.

No one is claiming this is a gold rush. It’s survival with optionality. Could it have been better? Sure. Everything could. But acting like it’s catastrophic because it doesn’t instantly change the athletic department’s balance sheet feels a little dramatic.

We’re not Ohio State. We never were.

But we’re also not required to torch the program because the check isn’t nine figures. Subsistence? Maybe. But compared to paying for your own free app and earning nothing?

That’s called progress.
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I appreciate your positive spin on this new media deal, but I’m having a really tough time seeing it that way.

Imagine if you worked for a company in which a bunch of senior management jumped ship and the company came to you and said, ‘We lost a bunch of revenue when all those senior managers left, so we are going to cut your salary in half, but we’ll get you back to 80% of your previous salary via funds we think we might get from some lawsuits that we currently have filed. The good thing is that we’ve converted some of your previously guaranteed salary into a productivity bonus structure which means unlimited earning potential for you! If you just increase you productivity 500%, you’ll actually make what you were making before!’

Is that a company you would believe is making progress? To me, it looks like a sinking ship.
 
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