How many TVs would this actually get games on in a given market though? If we're using religious affiliation there are like 6.5 million Mormons in the U.S. compared to over 70 million Catholics. If every BYU game was going to be available on every TV in California I feel like that would have already happened.
I don't mean to suggest that BYU is Notre Dame big, but BYU draws eyes to televisions despite not being a traditional market.
The Athletic did a nice analysis of the viewership numbers from 2015-2019 and why BYU would be considered a favorite if you go simply by eyes on screens (there is, obviously, the politics element to this as well) - BYU simply holds their own when on a top-tier network (ABC, ESPN, and FOX) and has better viewership numbers than everyone else on the smaller cable networks (ESPN2, ESPNU, Fox Sports 1, etc.) Here's what their analysis found with regard to BYU and some of the other schools being considered.
Top Tier Viewership (ABC, ESPN, & FOX) - Games & Average Viewership
Big XII Teams: 36 games, 1.786M
BYU: 16 games, 1.64M
Cinci: 11 games, 1.64M
UCF: 11 games, 1.44M
Houston: 15 games, 1.42M
Boise St: 9 games, 1.18M
Secondary Network Viewership (ESPN2, ESPNU, Fox Sports 1, etc.)
BYU: 20 games, 682K
Big XII Teams: 104 games, 482K
Boise St: 29 games, 470K
Houston: 17 games, 356K
UCF: 21 games, 247K
Cinci: 11 games, 170K
It should also be noted that BYU and Boise St play a lot of their games on those secondary networks in the dreaded late night time slot (10PM ET or later kickoff), while the other schools listed do not. Simply put, while there are more eyeballs total on the East Coast, the fewer options on the West Coast mean larger audiences and potentially a larger media rights deal.