It appears that last December’s ESPN fiasco wasn’t the last change in the way Montanan’s will watch Griz Football on television. Root Sports, formerly Fox Sports Net, has purchased the broadcast rights for every Big Sky Conference football and basketball games. It’s available on DirecTV and Optimum. What are your thoughts?
Root Sports has purchased primary broadcasting rights for Big Sky Conference football and basketball games. An official announcement of the contract will be made in a teleconference Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Per its deal with the Big Sky, Root will have the first choice for broadcasting football and basketball games league-wide.
A league source told The Gazette Monday night that any Big Sky games Root does not televise will still be available for broadcast to local secondary markets such as Montana’s News Stations and Max Media.
The goal, the source said, is to broadcast every Montana and Montana State football game in one market or another, as has been the norm in recent years.
Root Sports, formerly known as Fox Sports Net, broadcasts to three regions — Northwest (based in Bellevue, Wash.), Rocky Mountain (based in Denver) and Pittsburgh. The network reaches more than 8.7 million viewers across 18 states, and has exclusive programming and distribution partnerships with more than 25 teams and conferences.
Root Sports is a subsidiary of DirecTV Sports Networks, and is available through Optimum TV and other cable television providers.
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