DENVER (KDVR) — Altitude and Comcast have settled a long-running lawsuit, but that does not mean Comcast subscribers will now get to watch Nuggets or Avalanche games.
The settlement terms for the years-old federal lawsuit are confidential, “except that the parties acknowledge that the settlement does not involve the carriage of Altitude on Comcast’s cable systems,” Comcast said in a statement on Friday. “Comcast and Altitude remain willing to discuss potential future business and distribution arrangements.”
Comcast said they’ve offered to provide a subscription-based arrangement to broadcast the regional sports network, “so that those customers who want it can get it and the vast majority who did not watch the network do not have to pay for it.”
Kroenke Sports and Entertainment owns the teams and Altitude, along with the venues where they play and other media entities. FOX31 has reached out to the company’s representatives for comment.
Altitude-Comcast dispute ongoing since 2019
Altitude has the broadcast rights for the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Rapids and Colorado Mammoth. The channel has been in a virtual blackout since August 2019, when its contracts with DirecTV, Comcast and DISH Network expired.
Only DirecTV has reached a deal with Altitude since then.
Altitude filed an antitrust lawsuit against Comcast, alleging the company was trying to force the channel out of business, start its own regional sports network and buy the rights to broadcast the games. The two companies went into mediation in December 2021, but those efforts failed.
It’s not the only local broadcasting debacle for Denver’s professional sports teams. Warner Bros. Discovery, which now owns AT&T SportsNet, said it cannot afford to air Colorado Rockies broadcasts this season.
Major League Baseball is preparing for a possible takeover of broadcasts for the Rockies and 16 other teams in the league.