The CW Network and Mountain West Forge Broadcast Partnership Through 2030-31 Season
Network Adds 13 Football Games Per Year to its Growing College Sports Portfolio
20 Men’s Basketball Games and 15 Women’s Basketball Games Per Year to Get National Broadcast Reach
The CW to Be the Exclusive Home of Nearly 800 Hours of Live Sports Per Year
BURBANK, CA (February 3, 2026) – The CW Network today announced a multi-year broadcast partnership with the Mountain West Conference beginning with the 2026-27 season and continuing through 2030-31. Under the terms of the deal, The CW will air 13 Mountain West football games per year to its national audience, as well as 20 men’s basketball games and 15 women’s basketball games per season.
“The addition of the Mountain West to the CW Sports lineup strengthens our position as a top destination for premiere college sports,” said Mike Perman, Senior Vice President of Sports, The CW Network. “We are excited to partner with the conference and bring these universities into homes across the country every week, combining our maximum national reach with our local affiliate impact to showcase these athletic programs and their student-athletes.”
“We are thrilled to welcome The CW as a new broadcast partner for the Mountain West beginning in 2026-27,” said Gloria Nevarez, Mountain West Commissioner. “The CW’s national reach and commitment to elevating live sports will bring our football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball programs to more households than ever before. This partnership delivers an unprecedented level of national exposure for Mountain West women’s basketball, shining a spotlight on the talent, competitiveness, and rising profile of our student‑athletes across the country.”
Beginning with the 2026-27 season, the new Mountain West will feature a comprehensive membership model that brings together full-time, all-sport institutions alongside select sport-specific members. The Conference’s all-sport members—United States Air Force Academy; University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa; University of Nevada, Reno; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; University of New Mexico; San José State University; University of Texas at El Paso and University of Wyoming, will continue to compete across the full Mountain West portfolio, including football. University of California, Davis and Grand Canyon University will join as all-sport members outside of football, while Colorado College (women’s soccer), Northern Illinois University (football and women’s gymnastics), and Utah Tech University (baseball and men’s swimming and diving) will compete as affiliate members in designated sports.
The Mountain West joins The CW’s expanding college sports portfolio alongside the ACC and Pac-12. The network’s 2025 college football regular season slate comprised of ACC and Pac-12 games saw double-digit year-over-year viewership gains in total audience, with ACC football growing 26% compared to the previous season. The 2025 Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl on The CW also grew 13% in total viewers compared to the previous year’s game. With the addition of the Mountain West, The CW will now be the exclusive home to nearly 800 hours of live sports per year. View the network’s latest sports programming in the new CW Sports brand sizzle.
The CW continues as the exclusive broadcast home of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, returning for its second full year on the network on Saturday, February 14 (4:00pm ET/ 1:00pm PT) live from the legendary Daytona International Speedway. Additionally, professional bowling debuts on the network when PBA Championship Sundays on The CW begin on February 22 (4:00pm ET / 1:00pm PT) live from Arlington, Texas. The CW will also broadcast its first tennis event with the MGM Slam Presented by Capital One featuring eight of the top men’s players in the world live from Las Vegas on Sunday, March 1 (7:00pm ET / 4:00pm PT).
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About The CW Network
The CW is America’s fifth major broadcast network and reaches 100% of US television households. The CW delivers 15 hours of primetime entertainment programming per week in addition to nearly 400 hours of sports per year as the broadcast home to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, WWE NXT, ACC football and basketball games, Pac-12 football games, AVP beach volleyball, PBR Team Series, and Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) events. The fully ad-supported CW App, with more than 100 million downloads to date, is available for free to consumers on all major platforms and is home to the latest episodes and seasons of The CW’s primetime programming and a library of entertaining film and television content for on-demand viewing. The CW is 75%-owned by Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST), a leading diversified media company and largest CW affiliate group. For more information about The CW, please visit www.cwtv.com.
The CW Media Contacts:
Beth Feldman Rob Moynihan
646/563-8334 760/519-5543
Beth.Feldman@cwtv.com Rob.Moynihan@cwtv.com
