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Provo

BYUtv is having no trouble selling advertising for its upcoming telecasts of Cougar football and basketball games. They're just not calling it advertising.

"We call it underwriting or sponsorships," said Derek Marquis, managing director of BYU Broadcasting. "How do you think PBS survives?"

He's absolutely right. Tune in to PBS and you'll see advertising for companies that underwrite the programs.

"We can do the same thing," Marquis said. "BYUtv is like PBS as far as the regulations."

And advertisers are coming to BYUtv.

"Corporate sponsors are coming out of the woodwork," Marquis said. "They're contacting us saying, 'Hey, how do I get on board with that?' "

So in addition to what BYU will make from ESPN, there will be money rolling in to BYUtv. The channel will carry the Idaho State football game, a slew of men's basketball games and 120-plus live sports events, along with studio shows, etc. (BYUtv will do pre- and postgame shows for games on ESPN.)

And it will all be underwritten by corporate sponsors.

"There are ways to monetize this, and we're taking advantage of them," Marquis said. "But that isn't the reason behind any of this.

"It has never been about the money. It's always been about fan access. This new [state-of-the-art BYU Broadcasting] building was not built with the idea 'How can we make it profitable?' It was 'How can we get it into as many households as possible?' "

That's something the Mountain West Conference never grasped. Marquis himself acknowledged, "It's hard for people to get their arms around this." And there are plenty of doubters, both locally and nationally.

But BYU's mission is inextricably tied to its owner, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so it makes perfect sense.

The folks at BYU still bemoan the fact that the MWC wouldn't let them rebroadcast games. Wouldn't allow them to telecast games that weren't on one of the MWC's TV outlets — even when BYUtv offered to give The Mtn. the games to rebroadcast at will.

ESPN had no such restrictions when the Cougars played Oklahoma at Cowboys Stadium in Texas in 2009.

"We had no relationship with ESPN," Marquis said. "We called up ESPN and said, 'Hey, can we re-air that game on BYUtv?' They didn't even have to get back to us. They immediately said, 'Sure. Knock yourself out. Air it as many times as you want.' "

"We want our fans to be able to see games," said BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe. "That was our No. 1 priority."

Mission accomplished. Once we learn what channel will telecast the BYU-Oregon State game, it's a virtual certainty that, cumulatively, the Cougars' 12-game regular season will be available in more than a billion homes.

(That's 100 million per ESPN or ESPN2 game, 72 million per ESPNU game, and 60 million for the BYUtv game.)

BYU still wouldn't be getting exposure on The Mtn., which remains unavailable in 90 percent of the country. But in addition to the 60 million cable and satellite homes it's in, BYUtv will stream games live and in high-definition on the Internet.

"There is not a street in the United States where you can't get BYUtv if you want it," Marquis said.

It is, essentially, what members of the MWC were promised in 2005. A promise that remains unfulfilled.

Scott D. Pierce covers television for The Salt Lake Tribune. His sports on TV column runs every Wednesday. Email him at spierce@sltrib.com; follow him on Twitter @ScottDPierce; read his blog at sltrib.com/blogs/tv. —