Mountain West announces eat-what-you-kill streamer, paying schools based on subscriptions driven

The Mountain West is finding a new way to reward schools that drive the most value for the conference.

On Wednesday, the conference announced it is partnering with streaming technology company Kiswe to launch a direct-to-consumer streaming service, MW+, that will provide live coverage of Mountain West events that are not available via one of the conference’s linear broadcast partners. But this isn’t just any old college sports streamer. MW+ is designed to reward schools that generate the most subscriptions for the platform.

According to the announcement, “A majority of each subscription purchased through a member school’s dedicated page will directly support that institution, creating a scalable and sustainable revenue opportunity aligned with fan engagement.”

It’s a first-of-its-kind model, but one that is a sign of the times in college sports. The Mountain West stands to look much different beginning this upcoming football season, as the conference’s biggest draws depart for the new-look Pac-12. That leaves Air Force, Grand Canyon, Nevada, UNLV, New Mexico, San José State, Wyoming, UC Davis, Hawaii, and UTEP as the conference’s full-time members. Some of those schools and their fan bases surely command much greater attention than others, and the conference believes those schools should be rewarded financially for it.

While earning direct revenue from subscriber acquisition is a novel concept, unequal revenue sharing within a conference is gaining popularity in college sports. The ACC has famously created a model in which schools are rewarded based on a mix of factors ranging from on-field performance to television ratings. In that system, more television viewers equals a greater share of the conference’s revenue distributions.

“Not only are we expanding how fans connect with our schools and student-athletes, but we’re also creating a powerful new revenue stream that directly benefits our member institutions,” Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a press release.

MW+ will likely be just a small portion of a school’s overall revenue from media distributions. The Mountain West recently signed six-year deals with CBS, Fox, and The CW for linear television distribution of its best football and basketball inventory. No doubt, that revenue will make up the vast majority of the conference’s media earnings. But with schools vying for every possible cent as the college sports landscape becomes a financial warzone, initiatives like this incentivize schools that are willing to invest in building their fan base.