Denver sports fans received a pleasant surprise on Tuesday from Altitude Sports.
After six years of blackouts, Altitude Sports will now be available for Xfinity TV subscribers in Colorado, New Mexico, and parts of Arizona and Kansas. Xfinity customers in the aforementioned Denver sports markets will now be able to watch live Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche games as part of their pay TV package.
“We are thrilled to once again make Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche games available on Comcast and Xfinity platforms in Colorado and the surrounding region,” Josh Kroenke, vice chairman Altitude’s parent company Kroenke Sports & Entertainment said in a press release. “This is the best possible outcome for Nuggets Nation and Avs Faithful, who now have a straightforward way to see every game on one service.”
The network will be included in Xfinity’s “More Sports and Entertainment” tier, a premium offering priced higher than the “Sports and News,” “Popular TV,” and “Ultimate TV” packages. This is consistent with Comcast’s nationwide strategy of forcing regional sports networks onto higher programming tiers.
According to the release, “More Sports and Entertainment” will run customers an extra $15.95 per month, effective this April. Xfinity customers will also have the option to subscribe to Altitude+, the network’s direct-to-consumer streaming service, for $19.95 per month.
The agreements that both the Nuggets and Avalanche had with local affiliates 9NEWS and My20 to broadcast a select number of local games for free over-the-air are unaffected by the new Comcast deal.
“The real winners today are the fans,” said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. “In 20 years we’ll tell our children and grandchildren what it was like to watch Nathan MacKinnon and Nikola Jokić in their primes. This agreement gives fans more options on how to easily access games and ensures they won’t miss a second of the action. I’m thankful that Altitude and Comcast came to the table and worked together to close this deal. Their teamwork will benefit the fans, the players, and the city.”
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.