It's outrageous enough that Dick Harmon would report a single person's outlandish conspiracy theory about anyone's motivations in the negotiations for satellite carriage of The mtn. (MountainWest Sports Network) without giving the network a chance to respond to such extreme opinions.
It's worse than outrageous that he doesn't name the purported expert.
Who is Harmon's unnamed "senior executive in the communications industry" and why should we believe him? Most importantly, from what facts does he draw his outlandish conclusion? Certainly not on the obvious evidence, namely:
A total of 18 television providers already carry The mtn. on terms comparable to those we have offered to satellite companies countless times — the latest being Baja Broadband, bringing the network to southern Utah viewers on Sept. 1.
Ten of those carriers are in Utah, the most of any state we serve.
The mtn. is investing tens of millions of dollars to build a pioneering, cutting-edge network. This investment cannot be justified by simply adding more cable subscribers from one company in one state.
Utah and BYU fans who want to see The mtn. on satellite are getting stiffed by satellite companies. We have heard loudly and clearly from fans with satellite how badly they want The mtn., but the satellite companies are standing in the way. DirecTV is even giving MWC fans the new Big Ten Network, which they have financial ties to, but not The mtn. We've enlisted Ty Detmer and Alex Smith to help them hear us. Utah fans: Add your voice to the chorus and tell your satellite provider you want The mtn.
Kim Carver is the vice president and general manager of The MountainWest Sports Network.