Regional sports broadcaster Altitude Sports says it will soon launch its own direct-to-consumer streaming service that will allow fans of the Denver Nuggets basketball team and Colorado Avalanche hockey team to watch locally-televised games through the web.
The service, called Altitude Plus, will cost $20 per month and allow fans to watch live games from the two teams without a cable or satellite subscription.
The games have been unavailable to customers of Comcast since 2019, when the cable giant’s contract to carry Altitude Sports expired without a new agreement in place. The deal impacted fans of the local basketball and hockey teams in Denver, where Comcast’s Xfinity TV is the primary cable provider.
For the past five years, Denver-based cable TV customers and others who are served exclusively by Comcast had two options to receive Altitude Sports: DirecTV (including their standalone streaming service, DirecTV Stream) and Fubo. (Altitude Sports is also carried on Charter’s Spectrum TV in areas outside of Denver where that service is offered.)
The launch of Altitude Plus will help ensure Nuggets and Avalanche fans across the broadcaster’s footprint will be able to watch games over the web, no matter what cable TV provider they have — or even if they don’t pay for cable TV or a streaming cable-like service at all.
In addition to Altitude Plus, the network said it recently struck an agreement with local TV broadcaster TEGNA to offer 20 Avalanche and 20 Nuggets games on two over-the-air stations in the Denver metropolitan area this season. Half of the 40 games will air on KUSA-TV (Channel 9, NBC) and the other half will be available on KTVD (Channel 20).
“Thanks to the vision and creativity of my father and our leadership team, the hard work of many across this organization, and a tremendous partner in TEGNA, we are thrilled to deliver a comprehensive solution so that our fans can watch all Nuggets and Avs games this season and beyond,” Josh Kroenke, the Vice Chairman of Altitude Sports owner Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, said in a statement.
“As we embark on the 25th season of Ball Arena and not only celebrate the past but look toward the future, it is fitting that we introduce the next evolution of our Altitude Sports network that includes Altitude Plus and games on 9NEWS and My20,” Kroenke continued, referring to the local TV stations by their on-air branding. “Thanks to this innovative model, our fans can be with us every step of the way this season in our quest to bring both the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy and the Stanley Cup back to Denver.”
Altitude Sports said the games aired on the two broadcast stations will feature the same line-up of commentators and reporters as the games available on the pay TV network. Chris Marlowe, Scott Hastings, Vic Lombardi, Christopher Dempsey, Katy Winge and Bill Hanzlik will call and report on Nuggets games, while Marc Moser, Mark Rycroft, Kyle Keefe and John-Michael Liles will cover the Avalanche.
“We’ve worked with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment for more than 25 years, and we’re thrilled to take our relationship to the next level as the official over-the-air broadcast home of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche,” said Mark Cornetta, the Senior Vice President of Media Operations at TEGNA. “With both teams coming off recent championships, the demand from fans is at an all-time high. Today, there are even more reasons for fans to celebrate with the ability to watch Nuggets and Avs games for free over-the-air.”
Altitude Sports said its arrangement with TEGNA will put Nuggets and Avalanche games in front of 3.5 million television households throughout the Denver metropolitan area.
