Mountain West launches MW+ streaming service with school-specific revenue sharing
The Mountain West Conference has launched MW+, a direct-to-consumer streaming service powered by technology vendor Kiswe. The platform features an institution-specific revenue-sharing model and provides a centralized hub for events outside of the conference's main linear broadcast rights.
Key Takeaways
- MW+ pricing is set at $10.99 monthly or $79.99 annually, with a 15% promotional discount available through September 2026.
- Member schools receive a majority share of subscription revenue for every sign-up completed via their individual school-branded landing pages.
- Technology partner Kiswe built a multi-tenant platform featuring interactive tools and original content for the conference's 21 sponsored sports.
- The launch coincides with a new six-year media rights cycle with CBS Sports, Fox Sports, and a five-year agreement with The CW Network.
Why It Matters
The Mountain West is pivoting to a decentralized D2C model to incentivize member schools to market digital subscriptions as a critical revenue hedge. By allowing institutions to keep a majority of regional proceeds, the conference addresses the hyper-local loyalty of college fanbases while centralizing long-tail content that falls outside major linear contracts. This move contrasts sharply with the relaunched Pac-12, which secured 100% linear distribution for its football slate via CBS, USA Sports, and The CW. The success of MW+ will provide a roadmap for mid-major conferences attempting to monetize Olympic sports and non-marquee inventory as the regional sports network model continues to erode. Watch for initial churn rates after the football season as a indicator of multi-sport fan stickiness.
Additional Context
The July 2026 conference realignment shifts signify a total reconstruction of the Group of Five and independent landscapes. Per AP News and Wikipedia (November 2024 - February 2026), the Mountain West officially added UTEP and Grand Canyon University as all-sport members, while North Dakota State and Northern Illinois joined as football-only affiliates. These additions were necessary to stabilize the league after Boise State, San Diego State, Utah State, Fresno State, and Colorado State departed for the rebuilt Pac-12. The concurrent launch of MW+ serves as a technological anchor for this new membership, aiming to replace the historical reliance on local linear outlets. Similarly, the Pac-12’s relaunch on July 1, 2026, revolves around a aggressive linear-first strategy. According to reports from CBS Sports and USA Network (August 2025 - November 2025), the Pac-12 secured a secondary media rights deal with USA Network—rebranding as 'USA Sports'—to televise 22 regular-season football games and 50 men’s basketball games. Unlike the Mountain West's subscription-based D2C play, Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould emphasized achieving 100% national linear reach via over-the-air and cable partners. The Pac-12 also retained its internal production arm, Pac-12 Enterprises, to handle over 150 broadcasts for its media partners, per conference statements. Kiswe’s role in the Mountain West deal represents a significant expansion for the streaming provider. While Kiswe previously powered D2C apps for individual professional franchises like the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz (per Kiswe, 2023-2024), the MW+ platform is its first large-scale collegiate conference application that handles decentralized revenue distribution. This architecture allows the Mountain West to balance central conference governance with the branding autonomy required by individual university athletic departments.
Read full article at cablefax.com
Get this in your inbox → Subscribe
Enjoy our coverage?
Add StreamingMeme as a preferred source on Google to see more of our streaming news at the top of your Search results.
Add as preferred source