Boise State in the MWC? Don't count on it via
Boise State president Bob Kustra was beating the conference expansion drums again last week, publicly re-confirming his hope that the Broncos can leave the WAC and join the Mountain West Conference.
Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret Morning News looks at Boise State and says not so fast my friends. After all, conference expansion is all about TV markets.
Conference expansion is driven by television. It’s not fair and I would argue that it’s not right but it’s a fact.
The SEC expanded to 12 teams and signed a separate TV contract with CBS. The Big Eight became the Big 12 so that it could add all those TV sets in Texas and demand a whole lot more money from various TV networks which it did.
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In terms of television, Boise has very little to bring to the table. It’s the No. 119 TV market (measured by number of homes). It’s only 29 percent the size of the Salt Lake TV market. Of the current nine teams in the MWC, only Wyoming has fewer TV households.
Ouch. I can’t vouch for Pierce’s research on TV markets, but… last time I checked… well, let’s just say Boise is not in the top 20. Agreed?
The MWC is already bought & tied into a television agreement with CSTV through 2013 (aka the “.mtn”). Any deal before that 2013 expiration would either have to cut the new team out of the revenue completely as an “introductory period”, or the nine Mountain West members would have to agree to cutting the revenues they are receiving so as to share with their new stable mate.
I wouldn’t hold my breath, Boise State.
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