Frustration over the Comcast-Altitude TV blackout reached the locker room.

Colorado’s largest cable provider has not broadcast local Avalanche or Nuggets games on their Stan Kroenke-owned regional sports network since 2019 due to a contract dispute.

Players are paying attention.

Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, in a weekend social media post, connected the lack of viewership to teammate Jamal Murray’s NBA All-Star snub. Gordon posted on X (formerly Twitter): “First we could start by playing our own games on TV in our local market.”

Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram told The Denver Gazette that “you hear about it from fans and family members.” He doesn’t have the answers. But the solution is common sense.

“A team with so many great players — Nate (MacKinnon), Mikko (Rantanen), Cale (Makar) — you should try to showcase them as much as possible,” Byram said. “They should be on TV at every chance.”

The sports media distribution landscape is rapidly evolving with a universal decline of the regional sports network (RSN) model. A dwindling traditional cable subscriber base led some NBA and NHL teams to completely rethink how they distribute local game broadcasts this season. How will Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE) adapt?

In October, Avalanche and Nuggets team president Josh Kroenke told reporters that KSE was “looking at everything” to solve the blackout. However, four months later, KSE provided little clarity on updated Comcast contract negotiations or plans for growing TV viewership.

“Altitude Sports is working tirelessly looking for a resolution in this carriage dispute with Comcast. … We also encourage fans to look at other means to watch their hometown teams on Altitude Sports, including DirecTV, DirecTV Stream, Charter (Spectrum TV) and Fubo TV, while we at Altitude Sports continue to explore additional viewing options,” KSE president of media ventures Matt Hutchings said in a Monday evening statement to The Denver Gazette.

The New Orleans Pelicans and Vegas Golden Knights might provide a blueprint for KSE to follow. Their old-school solution — offering local games on free over-the-air TV (OTA) — could finally end the suffering of many Avalanche and Nuggets fans.

“A good test pilot”

Altitude is not alone in its carriage rights struggle.

Just look at Bally Sports.

Last March, the national RSN chain’s parent company, Diamond Sports Group, declared bankruptcy with a reported $8 billion in debt. That left 11 NHL teams and 16 NBA teams in limbo. Both leagues reached separate agreements to carry games on Bally Sports through the end of the 2023-24 season.

Their revised deals allowed teams to broadcast up to 10 OTA games in their local markets. That made sense to Greg Bensel, senior vice president of communications and broadcasting for the Pelicans. Bensel called it “a good test pilot” during a recent phone call with The Denver Gazette.

On Jan. 12, the Pelicans played their first OTA game at home against the Nuggets. It drew a 7.4 rating in New Orleans, according to the Times-Picayune, reaching an average of 50,000 households on WVUE-TV. The Pelicans rarely exceeded a 2.0 rating previously for games on Bally Sports.

“We went from a max capacity of 700,000 potential viewers on the Bally RSN to 7 million with over the air,” Bensel told The Denver Gazette. “That’s just the 10 games.”

The Golden Knights took it a step further.

Vegas previously broadcast games on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, the former local TV home of the Colorado Rockies, when the RSN announced plans to shut down. The Golden Knights used the challenge to grow their brand over the air.

“It allows us to double down on what we were trying to do originally,” said Kerry Bubolz, Golden Knights team president, in a phone interview with The Denver Gazette. “Which was to build what I’ll call the ‘Team of the Mountain West’ and build a larger fanbase than just Las Vegas.”

The Golden Knights will play 69-of-82 regular season games this season on OTA broadcasts available in local markets across Nevada, Utah, Idaho and Montana. It’s possible because of a partnership with Scripps Sports, whose parent company operates 61 local television stations nationally. Vegas also launched a subscription service — KnightTime+ — which allows fans to stream locally broadcast games for $69.99/season.

“We come at it completely differently,” Brian Lawlor, Scripps Sports president, told The Denver Gazette. “Let’s create a business relationship that is completely focused on the fan. Let’s put the games over the air for free. Let’s put the games on streaming. We’re monetizing it, selling advertising, and we’re seeing a huge lift in ratings and engagement.

“For us, this is the new powerful platform moving forward.”

“It’s the Wild West”

A million-dollar question: Is a similar model possible for the Avalanche and Nuggets?

KSE declined to offer specifics on efforts to widen the distribution of local game broadcasts. Scripps Sports would not comment on a potential partnership. But there is a local Scripps station in Denver — KZCO-TV (ION) — that is not affiliated with a “Big 4” broadcast partner (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC).

That availability is important if KSE considers OTA distribution in the future. Lawlor said: “We want to be in a place where we have two TV stations.”

But it hardly guarantees that KSE shares a mutual interest.

The Sports Business Journal, in a Monday report, analyzed the NBA viewership of local markets in comparison to last year (through Feb. 6). They found Altitude gained the largest percentage with a rise of 139% for Nuggets broadcasts, evidence the reigning NBA champions are growing their TV audience on Comcast alternatives.

The global e-commerce giant Amazon is also reportedly interested in acquiring RSN rights in their continued push for live sports programming.

“What long-term deals do we go sign now, because of how the landscape could potentially change in six months?” said Bubolz, Golden Knights team president. “It’s the Wild West. It’s crazy. It will be interesting to see what these big streaming companies do and how they play into it.”

Back in the Avalanche locker room, Byram reflected on his childhood as a Vancouver Canucks fan growing up in Canada — memories that shaped his dream to someday play in the NHL. The absence of Avalanche and Nuggets games on Comcast might have a lasting impact on future generations of fans.

“I’d be glued to my parent’s TV watching the game until I had to go to bed,” Byram said. “It’s unfortunate (some fans) don’t have that here right now. Hopefully, they’re working toward fixing it.”

ALTITUDE TV STATEMENT

KSE president of media ventures Matt Hutchings in a Monday statement to The Denver Gazette.

“Altitude Sports is working tirelessly looking for a resolution in this carriage dispute with Comcast. While we acknowledge Rocky Mountain sports fans have been hurt the most by this impasse, Altitude Sports continues to spend millions to produce, broadcast and celebrate our championship-winning Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Mammoth games while employing hundreds of people in the region.

“Comcast refuses to air these games and continues to charge hundreds of thousands of dedicated sports fans for their desired programming. Comcast simply refuses to give fans their money’s worth.

“We encourage fans to contact Comcast at 800-934-6489 to voice their concerns and demand having their title winning teams back on the air.

We also encourage fans to look at other means to watch their hometown teams on Altitude Sports, including DirecTV, DirecTV Stream, Charter (Spectrum TV) and Fubo TV, while we at Altitude Sports continue to explore additional viewing options.”