Altitude and Comcast reach deal to broadcast Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche games ending nearly 6-year blackout

After nearly six years, Altitude and Comcast have reached a deal ending a blackout that will allow Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche fans to watch the games on TV. Fans on Comcast have been in the dark since Aug. 31, 2019.

Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, which owns Altitude, made the announcement on Tuesday morning. It includes all Xfinity TV customers in Colorado and New Mexico, plus parts of Arizona and Kansas. According to the agreement, Xfinity customers will now have access to all live game broadcasts of the KSE-owned Nuggets and Avalanche.

The agreement begins Tuesday night with the broadcast of the Avs game as they take on the Vancouver Canucks at 8 p.m. and continues with all subsequent games moving forward, including Wednesday as the New Orleans Pelicans take on the Denver Nuggets at 7 p.m. at Ball Arena.

"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," said KSE Vice Chairman Josh Kroenke in a statement. "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."

"Xfinity delivers the sports and entertainment customers love," said J.D. Keller, Senior Vice President of Comcast's Mountain West Region, in a statement. "We're excited to give fans more ways to watch the recent world-champion Avalanche and Nuggets through this new agreement with Altitude."

The years-long dispute began when a deal between the two entities ended in 2019. As a result, all Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets games have been blacked out since that time for Comcast customers, who at the time made up about 92% of cable subscribers in the market, Altitude has stated in court documents.   

Two years ago, former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb got involved in the fight between Altitude Sports and Comcast. Webb, who served as mayor from 1991 to 2003, called on the state attorney general to investigate and bring an end to the dispute.   

Altitude had previously sued Comcast over alleged antitrust violations in 2019. In the complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, the Denver sports network claimed Comcast wanted to "extinguish competition from Altitude," and "strengthen its control over multichannel television distribution in the Denver DMA and around the country."    

Comcast had denied those allegations and called the suit "meritless," saying at the time it remained willing to distribute Altitude's content in a way that wouldn't raise rates for virtually all customers. The two sides reached a settlement for the federal antitrust lawsuit in March 2023 but the blackout continued.   

"The real winners today are the fans," said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston in a statement. "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."

Xfinity internet-only customers also will be able to subscribe to live-game streaming via the Altitude+ app.