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Colorado Avalanche: Altitude TV in Contract Dispute with Distributors

By Nadia Archuleta

DENVER, CO - FEBRUARY 25: Altitude TV analyst Mark Rycroft races in a celebrity relay race during the second intermission of the game between the Colorado Avalanche and the Florida Panthers at the Pepsi Center on February 25, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - FEBRUARY 25: Altitude TV analyst Mark Rycroft races in a celebrity relay race during the second intermission of the game between the Colorado Avalanche and the Florida Panthers at the Pepsi Center on February 25, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Colorado Avalanche fans are in danger of losing their access to games because Altitude TV can’t reach an agreement with the big three TV carriers.

The Colorado Avalanche are about to embark on one of their most-anticipated seasons in recent memory, and a large majority of the fanbase could miss it.

Regionally, meaning in Colorado and surrounding states, coverage of the team is via Altitude TV. The only games they don’t cover are the nationally-televised ones, which consists of 12 this season. Altitude also covers the Nuggets and Rapids.

The dispute is between the network and the three largest cable and satellite providers, Dish Network, Comcast, and DirecTV. All three of those providers have threatened to drop Altitude TV. Kroenke Sports and Entertainment is the parent company of Altitude.

All three carriers have carried Altitude for 15 years, honoring first a 10-year and then a five-year contract. They’ve proposed five-year, three-year, and two-year deals with the carriers.

Neither side has revealed monetary figures. However, according to Nick Kosmider of The Athletic, Jim Martin, the CEO and president of KSE, said the following:

"“It’s two things. It’s fair value and it is continued carriage at the level we are carrying it. They want to distribute to smaller carriage level. We have asked for the same carriage level.”"

According to Leslie Oliver, the Comcast Mountain West Region spokesperson, the regional sports network has “demanded significant annual price increases for the same content for years,” which has put a financial burden for customers in Colorado and Utah.

She contends that most Comcast customers don’t watch Altitude: “Over the past year, more than 95 percent of Altitude subscribers watched less than the equivalent of a game per week.”

“Same content” is misleading. I can personally attest that Altitude has been putting a lot of fresh content out (see title photo). And regional sports networks are going to be somewhat repetitive by nature — they’re always going to broadcast games and recaps.

Comcast packages for viewers start at $24.99 a month for basics and go all the way up to $125 a month. The cheapest package that offers Altitude is Digital Starter, which is $54.99 monthly with a contract and $64.99 monthly without.

With that package you’re getting 140 channels, including truTV, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, ShopHQ, and Sprout.

That’s right, the big three can make customers subsidize movies and mysteries made in the saccharine Hallmark style, but not regional sports.

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Because that’s what it ultimately comes down to. No, of course the big three carriers don’t make money off of regional sports networks. And, yes, the current model means the many have to pay so the few can access what they want. But, hey, I’m willing to subsidize “Impractical Jokers” and “The Carbonaro Effect” on truTV to get at Colorado Avalanche games.

Or, better yet, offer us a choice. Let us customize which channels we want. So, I could pay $55 for 140 channels, or $55 for the 10 channels I really want — one of which is Altitude TV.

Even better yet, Altitude TV can join forces with NHL.TV. Currently, NHL.TV blacks out games that can be covered by regional sports networks in order to not compete with them. Well, instead of shyly dancing around each other, why not get in bed together?

I’d pay for NHL.TV even if it meant the streaming service’s coverage of Colorado Avalanche games was blacked out, but I could access Altitude through the site. Heck, even if you gave me the option to choose between the two broadcasts, I’d opt for Altitude 100 times out of a hundred.

All three KSE sports are urging fans to contact their cable providers. I’ve already done so twice. If you’d like to take a stand, the links can be found here.

Next. NHL Network Talks Avs Rush Game. dark

The threat from the big three is real. Dish Network has already dropped 22 different regional sports networks. Fans in those regions cannot watch their local sports.

What do you think, Colorado Avalanche fans? Sound off below.

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