Last month, Denver regional sports network Altitude finally struck a carriage deal with Comcast to get back on Xfinity cable and streaming packages, ending a six-year blackout. But Xfinity subscribers still missed a crucial moment on Altitude Monday night.
There, Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon recorded his 1,000th career point thanks to two assists early in the third period of a 3-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. But fans watching on Xfinity missed that moment, and indeed, the rest of the game. Altitude sent out a statement apologizing for that issue Tuesday, blaming it on a “software malfunction” that ended the live broadcast early for viewers on Xfinity:
Altitude statement on last night’s Avalanche broadcast on Xfinity pic.twitter.com/kA61lCvhhC
— AltitudeTV (@AltitudeTV) March 11, 2025
But they still took a thorough roasting from fans and media:
5+ years of being the most embarrassing TV network. https://t.co/jsotk3xZJJ
— Zack DiGiulio (@zdigiulio) March 11, 2025
It was beyond awful timing given Nate’s milestone https://t.co/jrrTXKWybr
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) March 11, 2025
What are the chances that a software malfunction, that never happens, magically happened during Nathan MacKinnon’s 1000th career point. It just seems so unlikely. https://t.co/ulBpNvbNZb
— Avalanche Forever (@citchmook) March 11, 2025
lol, they reach a deal with Xfinity after 5.5 yrs of blackout and still manage to screw things up.
amazing. no notes. https://t.co/UAxcYnGRwS
— QuinneyUte (@QuinneyUte) March 11, 2025
It is certainly positive for Altitude to be back on Xfinity after all those years. And technological issues happen, and they’re not the only broadcaster to hit major issues even in the last few days. But the timing here was rough for those looking to catch this historic moment from MacKinnon.
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.