Possible KSE deal with Comcast not off table

Even after unveiling new streaming and over-the-air methods to watch Nuggets and Avalanche games, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment has not given up on also returning to Comcast.

Executive Kevin Demoff told The Denver Post that KSE is still trying to reach an agreement to bring Altitude Sports back to local Comcast customers before the NBA and NHL seasons begin in October.

Altitude, the KSE-owned regional sports network, has been blacked out on Comcast due to a carriage dispute since September 2019. Nuggets and Avalanche owner Stan Kroenke appointed Demoff president of team and media operations in March to oversee KSE’s next steps, half of which reached a triumphant conclusion Thursday with the announcement of Altitude+ and a selection of free games on local TV stations.

The other half is still a work in progress. Not abandoned.

“I think what we laid out in March was, we immediately started on two paths. One was a path that included Comcast. One was a path that didn’t include Comcast,” Demoff told The Post. “Obviously, we’ve been at a stalemate with them for over five years. It would have been irresponsible to say, ‘Hey, that’s the only way forward for us.’ So the way you could say, ‘How do you make sure our fans can watch all the games if we don’t reach a Comcast deal?’ That’s through a streaming product. That’s through going over the air. And renewing our deals with Charter (Spectrum TV), DirecTV and Fubo, which shouldn’t be lost in this, is making sure that that gets done.

“That was one path. The other path is getting a Comcast deal. We continue to work on that. We’ve had constructive dialogue. I don’t know how I’d rate it on (a scale of) optimistic to not optimistic. But my hope is still that when we kick off this season, we have a Comcast deal. I don’t think that’s off the table at all.”

If a deal is not completed by then, Demoff remains “encouraged that we’re at least having conversations about the right things.”.

The Avs have already started preseason play, and their regular-season opener is slated for Oct. 9 in Las Vegas. The Nuggets will host Oklahoma City on Oct. 24 to tip off their regular season, but exhibitions begin Oct. 4 against the Celtics in Abu Dhabi.

“We’ve talked to (Comcast) the whole time,” Demoff said. “Our goal was to bring a fresh approach to the conversation, so hopefully we’ve done that on the streaming and OTA side, and hopefully we can do that with Comcast. If we do, that’s great. If not, we’ve made sure our fans aren’t beholden to that deal getting done to be able to watch all of our games.”

What about Altitude+ during NBA, NHL offseasons?

The new streaming service will provide access to all Nuggets and Avalanche games that aren’t exclusively broadcast on national networks, for a subscription cost of $19.95 per month, KSE announced. Altitude’s collegiate coverage of Colorado State, Air Force and the University of Denver is also included.

Seeing as the NBA, NHL and college sports seasons roughly coincide on the calendar — pro basketball and pro hockey are particularly aligned — will subscriptions persist at the same cost during the six months of the year without those sports?

“The goal is for people to have their subscription during the season. Whether we can come up with content that’s compelling enough in the offseason for Altitude for people to keep their subscriptions during those months, we’ll see,” Demoff said. “We certainly understand the likelihood is, like with most sports subscriptions, that people will probably keep them in-season and may not keep them during the offseason. That’s not unique among any of these streaming products.”