Before the television contract between Altitude Sports and Comcast expired in late August, the sports network proposed extending its deal with Comcast for one year under the same terms, according to two people familiar with negotiations.
Comcast rebuffed the offer, the sources say, which would’ve temporarily avoided the current impasse thatap left the majority of local viewers unable to watch Nuggets and Avalanches games. That offer, which also included the presentation of games in 4K, a subscription-based commercial-free feed where Comcast would keep the revenue over the first year, came in August, amid negotiations that ultimately fell apart.
Altitude Sports filed an antitrust lawsuit against Comcast in November. On Jan. 14, there is a meeting with the judge scheduled to go over the basic arguments of the lawsuit. On Jan. 21, there will be a follow-up meeting for basic discovery.
There are no ongoing discussions with Comcast, according to a source, as the dispute extends beyond the four-month mark. Altitude executives say they continue to check with Comcast on a “bi-weekly” basis about whether their position has changed.
Comcastap most recent proposal included a reduction in fees between 50-70% of what their prior agreement had been. Altitude was hoping to get Comcast to agree to a one-year deal while negotiating a longer contract.
The Nuggets and Avalanche are among the best teams in their respective conferences. As it stands, unless customers have subscribed to DirecTV, or other smaller carriers, fans are missing two seasons that might yield deep playoff runs.
