There's nothing really new — and nothing really good — to report about the ongoing distribution problems of The mtn., which is stalled at a mere 1.2 million homes. But the channel's vice president and general manager, Kim Carver, is still trying to get the word out that they're trying really, really hard to improve the situation because the channel is "bleeding money."
And, while there are conspiracy theorists who believe that Comcast (which co-owns the channel) is trying to keep The mtn. off satellite systems, "There's nothing farther from the truth."
"Comcast ... has a business impetus to get the deals done," Carver said. "We're bleeding money right now, so we really need the distribution."
Comcast owns all or part of 17 networks; 13 of those are on DirecTV and/or Dish already. The business model to make The mtn. a success calls for most of the revenue to come from ad sales, not from subscription fees. Greater distribution would mean more viewers, higher ad rates and, hopefully, an end to the bleeding.
"It means a great deal. ... It's a big financial gain from us because we get national ad-sales clients," Carver said.
While she wouldn't get into specifics on the negotiations, she pointed out that 16 cable providers have picked up The mtn. under the same terms that DirecTV and Dish have spurned.
(The mtn. is on 17 cable systems in seven states, one of those being Comcast. Nine of the 17 are in Utah.)
Here's what Carver had to say about The mtn. as it heads into its second year of operation:
Are you aware of the fans' anger over lack of distribution?
"Yes. Very aware of it."
What would you say to the angry fans?
"I'm in kind of two camps about it. The fact that there's that much passion out there for the conference, the schools, the network, that transfers into good for me because that helps put pressure on satellite.
"On the other side, a lot of anger has been directed toward The mtn., and we're the ones putting the channel together and we're the ones trying to make a great network. ... I say, 'Well, let's try and rally the fans (against) the people who are responsible for this who are not carrying the network.'
"Our stumbling block here is distribution. If we all band together, we can get this done."
Do you envision The mtn. as a purely regional network or can it achieve a national presence?
"We're pushing really hard for national. We have Mountain West fans all over the country."
You recently launched an advertising campaign urging fans to call DirecTV and demand it add The mtn. Aren't you asking fans to do your job for you?
"It's a consumer universe. Distribution decisions are largely based on demand. ... We are negotiating, but it certainly puts a lot of pressure on (satellite) carriers when they hear this kind of anger and fervor."
Fans were asked to call the satellite companies last year, and their calls had no effect. Can it work this time around?
"I think we're starting to see a turn. This campaign that we launched last Friday really created quite a stir."
She said she had heard informal reports that "the DirecTV switchboard is really getting hurt. That's good news for us."
Your ad campaign targets DirecTV. Why not Dish?
"We're going to be launching Dish next. ... We'll be starting Dish spots very soon."
Is there any reason to hope that The mtn. will be added to Dish and/or DirecTV?
"We're starting to see some improvement. I can't tell you when that might break this, but discussions do continue and we engage."
Is it a matter of money or is The mtn's placement on one programming tier or another part of the hold-up?
"I can't get into the specifics of the deals, but they're ongoing.
"We are hearing from a lot of people, though, that are saying, 'We'll pay for it at any cost.' If the price does go up (in order to reach a specific programming tier), I figure that people will still be OK with that."
The mtn. is not available on most Comcast systems across the country. How can you expect DirecTV and Dish to step up when Comcast has not?
"I say the same thing about that — they ought to call their local Comcast office and demand The mtn. It's the same premise" because the various Comcast cable systems have "some autonomy."
Is this just a Utah issue?
"It's (the whole) Mountain West. We're hearing from everywhere. Actually, we're hearing nationally, too. It's certainly heated in the footprint of the Mountain West, but it's a bigger problem."
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com