“Yeah, we’re in talks with a couple of different groups. A project that big, we just got to make sure we do it right, because we don’t want to have to redo anything down the road. But they are fun conversations.”

That was Josh, on building new facilities.

In 2017.

“We have the land around the arena, and over at Elitch Gardens. We’re part of a master plan there to develop that out, and the first phase of that will include, most likely, an Avalanche and Nuggets facility. … But there’s a lot that goes into that. We’re working as fast as we can.”

That was also Josh, also on building new facilities.

In 2022.

So you’ll forgive the army of cynics up in the Grading The Week offices for chuckling and shaking their heads when Josh, when asked about one of the best franchises in hockey still practicing in a local rec center with a giant arcade on the ground floor, said this to the cameras:

“There’s one final hurdle that we’re in and we hope to have some information relatively soon. But again, we’re dealing with the city, and we’re working on pedestrian access over Speer, in and around that. I don’t have an exact time frame, but we’re very close.”

That was this past Thursday. Also Josh. Also on new facilities.

In 2026.

Josh Kroenke’s practice facility promises — C

The kindest thing we’ll say about KSE and some overdue buildings for the Avs and Nuggets to call home — or, heck, even one facility for the pair of them — is this:

We’ll believe it when we see it.

It never ceases to amaze the basketball guys and gals on the GTW crew who’ve worked in other markets how a franchise with one of the 10 best centers to ever play the game (Nikola Jokic) basically shoots, trains, and lifts weights in this teeny-tiny space just above floor level at Ball Arena. We’ve seen church basements with larger, dedicated basketball and CYO spaces and better facilities than the Nuggets’.

And yet the basketball side of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, or KSE, is palatial compared to its NHL counterparts down the road.

The Avalanche have won three Stanley Cups since 1996. That’s tied for the second-most in the NHL (Detroit — boo, hiss — has four) over the last 30 years.

And yet the directions for getting to the Avs’ locker room at the South Suburban Family Sports Center sound like something lifted from the movie “This Is Spinal Tap:” Go past the climbing wall in the lobby, veer left at the arcade and go up the steps. Yet they’ve been there since 1998. It feels like 1998. Actually, the whole thing feels incredibly bush league.

Ex-Nuggets voices staying classy while being stiffed by KSE  — A

We say this a lot in the GTW offices, but Scott Hastings is a better man than us. At least in front of a microphone.

“The young Scott Hastings probably would’ve thrown a fit, been upset, cussed people out, gone on the radio today and said, ‘You Em-effers,'” Hastings, the now-ex TV analyst for the Nuggets, said during his mid-day radio show on 92.5-FM earlier this week. “But it doesn’t do anybody (any) good. It’s not helpful.”

That said, we wouldn’t have blamed him for dropping a few expletives into the conversation. The Kroenkes did all their broadcast crews dirty, but especially those on the TV side, by squabbling with the even more stubborn jerks at Comcast in recent years. As a result, two of KSE’s best teams, the ’21-22 Avalanche and ’22-23 Nuggets, won championships in the NHL and NBA, respectively, while local broadcasts of their games were unavailable on many television sets in their home market.

Chris Marlowe deserved better. Hastings deserved better. So did Post alum Chris Dempsey, who, as anyone who’s met him will tell you, is an even better dude than he is a reporter and analyst. And that’s saying something.

But he refused to complain. Declined to whine.

Because Marlowe is known as a total professional, he expressed gratitude on social media for his 22-year run calling Nuggets games on Altitude Sports. He did not criticize his bosses for what they did on Tuesday night, texting The Post on Wednesday afternoon, “I just don’t feel it is appropriate for me to comment at this time.”

Allow me.

The decision Kroenke Sports Entertainment made — moving on from Marlowe and color commentator Scott Hastings — is disappointing, if not tone-deaf.

The Nuggets are coming off their most embarrassing playoff series in franchise history given the expectations and capitulation. It cracked open a vase of uncomfortable questions.

Trade Jamal Murray? Ship out Aaron Gordon? Deal Cam Johnson? Keep Peyton Watson?

President Josh Kroenke admitted the early exit “put everything on the table.”

Apparently, that applied to the broadcasters as well.

It remains unclear who called this shot, though if titles matter, it should fall under the purview of Kevin Demoff, the president of team and media operations for KSE.

Demoff has seemed detached from Denver since his hiring in 2024. California media members who have long earned my respect speak well of Demoff when the discussion involves the Rams.

His connection to the Nuggets and Avs has felt more transactional than personal. Never more than on Wednesday when The Post broke the news. Regardless of who made the call, KSE took a man who left so many of us happy and smiling and told him to start packing.

Remember, Marlowe was there through two 15s — Carmelo Anthony and Nikola Jokic. His joy in calling Jokic’s games was unmistakable and unrivaled.

Here was a man who answered the bell for nearly six years knowing that the audience had virtually disappeared because of a dispute with Comcast. An entire swath of Nuggets fans was lost forever. Marlowe did not let it affect his work.

But with his contract expiring, KSE let him go. Was it to change the vibe? Simply being cheap? Who knows.

Marlowe earned the right — even in an increasingly unfair business — to exit on his terms. And clearly he was not ready to leave, saying in his post, “I’m not retiring, and this is not goodbye.”

I switched carriers a year or so into the dispute to keep getting the Nuggets games.

Marlowe was an easy listen, and I enjoyed Hastings wearing out the officials. They made a good team.

And Marlowe made it fun. His “Sombor Shuffle,” “Porter Quarter,” “The Jokie Dok,” “On Fiyah!” and “bunny hop in the pea patch” were a treat. He provided sprinkles on a chocolate chip ice cream cone at a time when local broadcasts have become painfully vanilla and homogenized.

Season after season, Marlowe delivered, and now his time is up? Without eight months to let him know how much he is appreciated? Doesn’t seem right.

At least Hastings is remaining on his midday radio slot. Marlowe will no longer be around. That shouldn’t be allowed.

Basketball announcers are not Vin Scully. If baseball is a romance, football is a one-night stand. But basketball fits somewhere in between. The 82 games form a relationship between the team’s voice and the fans.

If Hastings taught us about the game, Marlowe reminded us that it was a game, his call conjuring images of his idol, the legendary former Los Angeles Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn.

And yes, I have a soft spot for Marlowe because he put in the work with humility and grace.

At every Nuggets pregame presser I attended over the last three seasons, he was there, taking notes and getting in a question or two. He integrated his knowledge seamlessly into the broadcasts, whether an injury update or a strategic shift.

And still, KSE put him on mute. They decided at 74, it was time for a change. And if you focus on his age, it is easy to understand why. But it was just a number, not a reflection of his energy and enthusiasm.

Seeing Hastings at games, he would provide a wisecrack, wondering if I was lost. Scott knows hoops.

And never did I listen to a Nuggets game and think Marlowe had lost his fastball.

Did he mix up some names? Sure. But it was part of the local broadcaster’s charm, part of his appeal. He worked with passion that came through the screen. And he did so without nauseating homerism. He wanted the Nuggets to win, but did not traffic in the terms of “We” and “Us.”

The plan, it appears, is to announce replacements in mid-to-late August. Katy Winge has earned a bigger role on the broadcasts. So maybe she takes over for Hastings.

Marlowe is not easily replaceable, especially if the Nuggets follow the trend of going younger and less experienced.

Just because someone has good vocal cords does not make them great in a play-by-play role. And high basketball IQ alone does not work without a soothing tone with proper inflection in big moments.

Marlowe had this. Excuse me. Has this.

His resume is more akin to that of the most interesting man in the world than to that of a broadcaster. He received a college scholarship in basketball and volleyball at San Diego State, and eventually played for Team USA’s indoor volleyball team. He acted in a soap opera and an NBC sitcom.

But he found his niche in hoops. And remarkably, he never let his past go to his head. He was always friendly and could spin a yarn, like a Bobby Knight story, like he was telling it for the first time.

Marlowe is the type of broadcaster that I believe should have kept his job until he decided to turn off the mic.

For a franchise that faces so many difficult decisions this offseason, renewing his contract should have been the easiest one.

Longtime Altitude TV play-by-play announcer Chris Marlowe and color analyst Scott Hastings will no longer call Nuggets games next season as Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, the parent company that owns the Nuggets, Avalanche and Altitude, plans to shake up its talent, four sources familiar with the decision told The Denver Post.

Marlowe has been calling Nuggets games for Altitude since team owner Stan Kroenke launched the regional sports network in 2004. An Olympic gold medalist as part of the 1984 U.S. men’s volleyball team, he has also been the lead play-by-play guy for beach volleyball at seven Olympics, most recently for NBC in 2024. He was named Colorado Sportscaster of the Year in 2023.

“All good things must come to an end,” Marlowe said in a statement released on social media. “… Altitude Sports is moving in a different direction and decided not to renew my contract. It has been a wonderful 22-year run, and I want to thank everyone who was there along the way, especially the fans. I’m not retiring and this is not goodbye — it’s just so long for now.”

Hastings has been a Nuggets and Broncos color commentator for various local broadcasts in Denver since 1993, when he retired from an 11-year career in the NBA. Drafted by the Knicks in 1982, the big man spent the last two seasons of his playing career with the Nuggets. Hastings will continue to co-host a sports talk show on Altitude’s radio station, The Post has learned.

Altitude Nuggets reporter and studio analyst Chris Dempsey was also let go, according to four sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Born in Boulder, he’s a former sports reporter for The Denver Post.

Katy Winge and Vic Lombardi, two other staples on the Nuggets broadcast, have been retained, according to three of those sources.

“For more than a decade, Chris Marlowe, Scott Hastings and Chris Dempsey have been synonymous with Nuggets basketball, bringing energy, insight and a genuine love of the game to every broadcast,” president of KSE media ventures Steve Smith said in a statement to The Post.

“They have been part of many of the most memorable moments in franchise history, including the 2023 championship run, and have helped shape how generations of fans experience Nuggets basketball. Each has been an outstanding ambassador for our organization, leaving a lasting impact on our company, our fans, and the broader Nuggets community.”

“We’d get out at 6 a.m., go play nine holes and then go start our day jobs,” Kostelecky said.

But wanting those early slots had them setting alarms at that same time a week before, when they were released to the public.

And that plan didn’t always work out for them, especially at their favorite courses like Lakewood’s Fox Hollow and Golden’s Fossil Trace.

“And a lot of times we’d forget, and somebody would hop on and steal that tee time,” he said.

Though they don’t get out and play as much these days – both now have kids and Klyn recently relocated from Denver to Kansas City – their startup Birdiewatch aims to solve that problem.

The site aggregates tee times and prices for the user, letting them filter out courses based on location, number of holes or cart preference.

The pair have 65 public golf courses and 20 simulators available to choose from across the Denver area. Golfers go to Birdiewatch, pick their desired course and then it redirects the user to the course’s homepage to book.

In the next few weeks, Klyn said Birdiewatch will also service Fort Collins, Loveland and Colorado Springs, among other Front Range cities.

“It����ap like Google Flights or Kayak or Expedia, but for golf courses,” Klyn said.

Birdiewatch doesn’t charge any fees or take a cut from the cost of booking, like their main competitor, the Comcast-owned GolfNow. Instead, Klyn and Kostelecky plan to make their money through subscriptions, which run $60 annually or $8 a month. Those allow golfers to get custom text or email alerts for times and courses of their choosing, a key pain point from their playing days.

Out of the 500 registered accounts on Birdiewatch, 40 are paying members, they said. The rest get access to the site’s aggregation and redirection for free.

“GolfNow is great, but there’s an added fee and they only represent like 15% of the total golf courses,” Klyn said, explaining that courses won’t sign up for the booking service to avoid getting a chunk out of their game fee.

“So we want to represent 100% and we don’t want added fees,” he continued. “We don’t want to take anything from the golf course and we don’t want to add more fees to the user.”

The pair also hopes to add revenue through sponsorships and ads on the website. They have no plans to add fees like GolfNow to their service, betting that more courses will give them a broader reach and enough subscribers to keep the lights on.

The two met 15 years ago through mutual friends when they were in college, Klyn at Northern Iowa and Kostelecky at Iowa State. After school, they both ended up in Chicago where Klyn worked in data engineering and Kostelecky worked in web design. Klyn came to Denver 10 years ago and Kostelecky, who still lives in Lakewood, arrived four years after him.

They started on Birdiewatch two years ago, garnering feedback from their golfer friends before rolling out its initial version last August. They updated it in March and added the subscription tier, putting a total of $2,300 to date into the buildout.

They are still keeping their day jobs but are gearing up to expand out of state in the future.

“At the end of the summer we’ll have a very clear path of what the next 12 months look like for us,” Kostelecky said. “We’re going to go to X number of cities, and here’s our marketing plan, and do we need to hire more people? Do we need contractors?

“This does take a decent chunk of our time, and so if we’re going to expand how are we going to handle that?”

Read more from our partner, .

When it popped up on social media on Tuesday night, there was a collective groan. At a time when the league should be uniting its audience, it traffics in fragmentation and causes frustration.

Want to fully appreciate Nikola Jokic’s pursuit of a second championship? In your streams.

There is no more compelling first-round series than Nuggets-Timberwolves (Sorry, Lakers’ fans, it is true). This is a rivalry born out of thrown chairs, tossed heating pads, trash talk, breathtaking performances and a Game 7 meltdown.

It is must-watch TV. If you can figure out how to watch.

The first four games are a maze of Amazon Prime, NBC/Peacock and ABC. I’m looking forward to calling my wife and explaining how to toggle back and forth between Prime and cable. And my parents have no chance of figuring it out.

The tanking has already compromised the league this season. Now, streaming is tainting the postseason.

Where is the line when chasing every last dollar doesn’t make sense?

Who goes through more hoops? The basketball or the fans?

In September, commissioner Adam Silver seemed detached from reality when asked about the rising cost of watching a season of NBA games. He said there are enough free games on broadcast TV, and noted that the league is a snackable product that can be digested through highlights.

Is this the advice to the audience? Watch dunks on your phone while you doomscroll?

So, it should come as no surprise that the disconnect continues in April.

The NBA is taking a victory lap over its best TV ratings in 24 years. What the league fails to explain in the fine print is that it took all of its cable contests and . Of course, they were going to get a spike.

Arguing that the league is healthy through this lens is a mistake. It should be a warning flag, especially when Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, two of the most recognizable players, are nearing the end of their careers.

All of the sports leagues continue to expand playoff fields to add games because it creates TV inventory to package. The NFL now plays on every day of the week, but Tuesday, farming out games to Netflix and YouTubeTV.

Gambling, fantasy sports and a remarkably loyal audience leave football immune from the consequences of greed.

The NBA is not in this position.

The league’s nightly product, featuring a third of the franchises rolling out G-League show ponies and another third resting stars, was embarrassing. Bam Adebayo scored 83 points. Any questions?

The playoffs offer a life raft. Good on good. Teams are motivated to win. And yet you need an IT guy and a credit card to find them.

It is ridiculous. When is enough enough?

A bells-and-whistles Amazon Prime membership runs $14.99 per month. Don’t want free shipping for packages? Then the cost is $8.99.

The second Nuggets game will be televised nationally on NBC. Thank goodness. The NFL forced my hand to purchase Peacock a few years ago. Outside of “Ted,” the inventory was uninspiring, especially given that “Dateline” is available on multiple cable channels. There was no reason to keep Peacock, even with the Olympics coverage, for $16.99 (premium plus) or à la carte at $7.99.

Game 3 returns to Prime. Send yourself a vat of Goof Off to remove paint from your living room and the memory of paying for the subscription.

Game 4 is on ABC. Right on. Oh, wait, Xfinity dropped the channels owned by E.W. Scripps when the agreement expired on March 31. Denver 7 is on the list. What fun. As if the Altitude blackout on Comcast for nearly six years didn’t suffice.

That was a punch to the throat. What is another kick in the (bleep)?

Yes, there are ways to bypass this with a digital antenna. But those cost between $20 and $60. Should this be necessary, especially for families already getting pinched at the grocery store and gas pump?

Covering sports for a living, I understand how TV operates as the hub of the professional sports universe. The mind-boggling revenue matters. But consumers are growing sick and tired of searching for games, only to reach for their wallets.

And somehow, this April, it has gotten worse.

This represents the first time that local regional sports networks are no longer permitted to broadcast the opening round. This was the safety net. As the Nuggets and Clippers bounced around from ESPN and TNT a year ago, the local constant was Altitude.

The RSNs are relegated to pre- and postgame shows.

Mike Breen, the voice of the NBA Finals, expressed his disappointment with the national exclusivity when he signed off on his main job during the Knicks broadcast last weekend.

“I personally think it’s a poor decision,” Breen said. “Fans want to hear their teams’ announcers, at least in the first round. Because, for so many of us, and all of my favorite teams growing up, the home team announcers, they become part of the family, such a big part of why you root for the team.”

The NBA thinks global, not local. It wants a worldwide audience, while making it tougher for those in the States to consume the product.

It should not cost fans another $800 or $1,500 a year to watch their favorite sports teams in the NFL, NBA and MLB.

It is expensive and exhausting.

The NBA doesn’t care that it makes it more difficult to see the Nuggets.

That is why the criticism of the viewing experience must remain so loud and clear.

Re: “Anti-car approach bad for downtown Denver businesses,” April 3 commentary

Having lived in Vienna, Austria, where there is a complex public transportation system and a very large pedestrian area void of all cars, I can agree completely with the authors Steve Weil and Jake Linzinmeir that eliminating parking and car access to the downtown areas will really affect the business and the arts within the central downtown of Denver.

In Vienna, you can catch a tram, bus or the underground within a few steps of the huge pedestrian mall. These modes of public transportation also run about every 5-7 minutes. Denver cannot approach this type of public transportation without enormous and disruptive investments.

I use the RTD for baseball games, but the rail runs every 30 minutes. So, I have to agree with the writers, Denver downtown will suffer greatly by banning or working to eliminate cars. As the population grows and the suburbs expand, downtown becomes more likely to suffer. Eliminating cars is not the solution.

Dennis C. Jackson, Broomfield

Speed cameras about safety or revenue?

Re: “More speed cameras and fines are coming,” April 2 news story

Why don’t CDOT and the other government entities involved in instigating traffic speed cameras just admit that this “solution” is mostly geared to raising revenue from Colorado (and other) citizens? It has been widely reported that when third-party contractors propose furnishing such systems at various governmental and committee meetings, much of the discussion focuses on financial projections for yields and revenue sharing.

Camera proponents who cite traffic accident frequency and deaths never seem to factor in such things as numbers of cars in traffic, disruptions from confusing construction lanes and barricades, miles driven, cell phone and integrated “car play” devices on board most new vehicles, or the like.

Sending out tickets to the 4,000 drivers who were pictured speeding in tests this March on rural Interstate 25 would evidently raise almost $300,000 in ticket revenue, but would we really be any safer?

Peter Ehrlich, Denver

Proposed legislation would keep dialysis patients connected to care

As someone who has been on dialysis for over two decades, I know that access to consistent, affordable care is not optional; it����ap life or death.

Kidney disease almost cost me my life. I spent over a month in the hospital when I was first diagnosed, and dialysis is what allowed me to rebuild my strength and survive. A previous kidney transplant eventually failed, and today I’m back on dialysis and at the top of Colorado’s transplant list.

Dialysis takes a massive physical and mental toll. Some days, simply getting through treatment feels like a full-time job.

Despite the challenges, I try to stay positive. After recovering, I was able to return to my music, a reminder that life doesn’t stop with a diagnosis. Still, keeping a regular work schedule is nearly impossible, which is why strong patient protections and coverage are so important.

That����ap why I’m grateful Colorado Reps. Jason Crow, Joe Neguse and Brittany Pettersen support the . This bipartisan legislation protects people with kidney disease from private insurance pushing dialysis patients off their plan prematurely. This bill ensures patients can keep their private health coverage for the full 30-month period, so they are medically and financially prepared. I urge Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and the rest of Colorado’s congressional delegation to also stand with dialysis patients by cosponsoring this important legislation.

Michael Peoples, Aurora

Seeking a refund for the loss of Denver7

Re: “Xfinity drops Denver7,” April 3 news story

Will Comcast reduce fees to customers due to the loss of programming that they paid for?

Robert Alter, Westminster

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Holy Blackout, Batman! Unless a Dark Knight swings in to save the day at the 11th hour, Denver sports faithful appear to once again be on the wrong side of a Comcast/Xfinity dispute that threatens their ability to watch championship-level teams in action.

�ݴھ��Ծ��ٲ���dropped channels owned by E.W. Scripps earlier this month in a contract squabble. Denver’s KMGH-TV (Denver7) is one of those Scripps stations — and, as an ABC affiliate, will be carrying some of the NBA Playoffs and Stanley Cup Playoffs.

ESPN/ABC is slated to air roughly 18 NBA postseason games during the first two rounds, and likely one of the two conference finals series this spring. ESPN/ABC will air the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals exclusively.

While specific games and network assignments have yet to be announced, it doesn’t take a VPN to see where this could be going.

And, frankly, it breaks the hearts — yes, we still have them — of the hoops nerds on the Grading The Week crew. Especially as it was only 15 months ago that Nuggets and Avs fans finally got Kroenke Sports & Entertainment’s Altitude channel back on Xfinity after nearly six years of darkness, public sniping and lawsuits.

Comcast/KMGH blackout — D

OK, we hear you. Enough sobbing. So, what are fans’ options for Nuggets and Avs playoff games that they can’t get on Xfinity? You’ve got a few, although none are perfect:

1. Buy a digital antenna. Easy to purchase, easy to install. Signal strength, however, may vary depending on your location.

2. Go full digital.

3. Pay for a streaming option such as Hulu, YouTube or Fubo, for example. (Full disclosure: The higher-ups in the GTW offices have been streaming for ages.)

4. Go full pirate, baby! Yarrrr!

The latter isn’t legal, mind you. But unfortunately, most Nuggets and Avs fans in the metro long ago learned — and frankly, had to learn, thanks to the blackout — how to find their games via more nefarious means.

Rockies making purple cool again? — B

We can’t believe we’re typing this any more than you can believe reading it,  but the Rockies — your Rockies, baseball punching bag, national punchline — had a heck of a week.

Friday morning’s news, as broken by The Post’s Patrick Saunders, brought smiles from FoCo to Castle Rock with the announcement that Broncos owners Carrie Walton-Penner and Greg Penner are purchasing a 40% ownership stake in Colorado’s Major League baseball club.

If nothing else, it probably means a nice cash boost for the Rox as the sport heads into potential labor uncertainty with the expiration of its agreement with the union looming in December. While the Monforts retain control of the team, everything Walton-Penner and Penner have touched with the Broncos so far has turned to gold — or pretty pristine silver, at any rate. It speaks well of the family’s investment in Front Range sports and the Rockies’ long-term prospects, financially and (hopefully) competitively.

Meanwhile, look who’s winning? The Rockies were 2-6 on April 4, you know, same as it ever was. The Phillies rocked Michael Lorenzen in a disastrous 10-1 laugher in the home opener on April 3.

The Rockies went 4-1 over their next five games, with a four-game win streak snapped at San Diego late Thursday night.

Fan fave Mickey Moniak from April 3-8 stirred the drink with three home runs, five RBI and a .714 slugging percentage to lift the middle of the order, while Willi Castro hit .412 and slugged .647 over that span.

Schedule the parades? Not yet. And small sample size, yes. But the last time the Fightin’ Monforts notched at least six wins from their opening 13 games was 2022 (8-5). Their record was 3-10 after a baker’s dozen contests a year ago. They opened 3-10 in ’24; 5-8 in ’23.

The ’22 Rox, by the way. wound up 68-94. If Warren Schaeffer coaxes a 25-win improvement from last year’s 43-119 nadir, give that man your Manager of the Year vote.

The cable provider, owned by media giant Comcast, said Scripps’ demands would have raised TV prices significantly for subscribers.

“Despite our best efforts, we have not been able to reach a new agreement,” the company posted on its website.

The following Colorado stations have been impacted: 

• Colorado Springs-Pueblo – KOAA: NBC, Court TV HD, Grit
• Denver – KCDO: IND, Grit
• Denver – KMGH: ABC, Laff TV, ION Mystery
• Denver – KPXC: Bounce TV HD, ION+

In an email statement to The Post, a Scripps spokesperson said Comcast has removed their local stations from its Xfinity service in 19 markets, cutting off viewers from “essential local news, weather and fan-favorite sports that Scripps stations provide Xfinity customers daily.”

“Scripps takes our public service responsibility to serve our communities seriously. Our stations provide on-the-ground reporting, real-time severe weather updates and live sports coverage that keep people safe and connected to what matters most in their daily lives,” the company added.

“Scripps has been negotiating in good faith to reach an agreement that reflects this value and is fair for both parties and viewers. We hope Comcast recognizes the critical value we play for our communities and restores our stations’ signals so we can continue to serve their customers.”

In a statement to The Post, Comcast said, “Scripps is demanding all of our customers pay for sporting events that only a very small number of them will watch. Our intention is to provide our customers with these stations, and we are working very hard to reach a fair agreement with Scripps.”

Scripps owns and operates nationwide in the Comcast footprint, and they’ve acquired the rights to show games for four professional hockey teams, including the Utah Mammoth, the Nashville Predators, the and the .

Xfinity customers can still find Scripps’ local news and sports programming for free over-the-air, on its station websites, streaming apps and on other locally available cable and satellite providers.

This isn’t the first time Xfinity has removed channels over contract disputes. Previously, the company pulled Bally Sports regional networks, which were before returning, as well as through Imagicomm and channels.

According to the company, programming changes happen.

“We pay other media companies, like TV station owners and operators, networks, and streaming companies, to bring their content to you. We negotiate regularly for top programming at affordable prices. When an agreement with a programmer ends and we cannot reach a new agreement that����ap fair for our customers, it can mean that their content is no longer available through Xfinity,” the company posted on its website.

Malone, 84, will become chairman emeritus at Liberty Media, based in Douglas County, and advise management and the board after he steps down on Jan. 1. Liberty Media Board Vice Chairman Robert Bennett, who goes by Dob, will become chairman of that company, while Mike Fries, CEO and vice chairman of Liberty Global, will take on the chairman duties at that company, which is based in London but has executive offices and a large presence in Douglas County.

“Founding Liberty Media and serving as its Chairman has been among the most rewarding experiences of my professional life,” Malone said in a statement. “With the successful simplification of our portfolio in recent years and our operating businesses in positions of strength, I believe it is an appropriate time to step back from certain of my obligations, and I am very pleased to have Dob Bennett, my partner and colleague of 35 years, stepping into the Chairman role.”

Malone added that Bennett has been involved in all the key decisions throughout Liberty Media’s history and said that he plans to remain actively engaged in an advisory role.

“I want to thank John for more than three decades of partnership and mentorship. His legacy as a visionary business leader is without parallel and I am deeply grateful for his confidence,” Bennett said in the release.

Bennett has served as a director on the company’s board since 1994 and served as Liberty Media’s president and CEO between 1997 to 2005. After Malone’s resignation, the Liberty board will have eight directors, five of whom will be independent.

Fries, who has been CEO of Liberty Global since it formed in 2005, said Malone was willing to invest in what was a “small but ambitious” international cable operation in the mid-1990s. It now employs 30,000 people and operates cable systems in six countries.

“I often remind my team that we stand on the shoulders of giants in this industry, and none broader than John’s. His extraordinary wisdom and strategic guidance have been invaluable, and personally, I could not have asked for a better mentor and friend,” Fries said in a statement.

An electrical engineer by training, Malone moved to Colorado in the early 1970s to run TCI, a fledgling cable company founded by Bob Magness in 1968. Malone instilled financial discipline and honed dealmaking skills that brought TCI back from the brink and built it into the country’s largest cable television provider. He earned the nickname “Cable Cowboy” for his pioneering moves and aggressive dealmaking.

Malone’s success helped establish metro Denver as a hub for the cable industry and drew other cable companies and content providers to the region, generating thousands of jobs. He also shaped a cooperative and collaborative model that still guides the cable industry to this day, said Phil McKinney, CEO of CableLabs in Louisville, which Malone founded in 1988 to promote industry innovation.

Malone brought together the leaders of all the major cable companies to work together on new technology and improve the customer experience.

“At that time, he recognized that the industry would strongly benefit from a sustained, long-range integrated approach to research and development — a central organization to monitor, evaluate, report and collaboratively develop technology for the industry.  Today, half a billion people use at least one CableLabs technology every day,” McKinney said.

CableLabs, which was originally based in Boulder, played an important part in establishing that city as a tech hub. The collaborative continues to draw cable industry CEOs serving on its board to Colorado three times a year.

Malone had the same level of vision as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk did in their fields, said McKinney, who was the chief technology officer at Hewlett-Packard before joining CableLabs. But he also was “amazingly humble.”

“It is not a game of trying to be the smartest person in the room,” he said.

In 1991, TCI spun off Liberty Media, which focused more on the content of what moved through the cables rather than the hardware. The bulk of TCI was sold to AT&T Broadband in 1999, with other systems ending up with Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, and Cablevision.

Liberty Media became a holding company that acquired stakes in numerous companies over the years and spun many of them off. Current and past investments include the Atlanta Braves, Formula One Group, Quint, Starz, Sirius XM Holding, LiveNation Entertainment, QVC and HSN or the Home Shopping Network.

Liberty Global, which focuses on acquiring, building and operating cable systems outside the U.S., was another spinoff in 2005. That company in turn spun off Denver-based Liberty Latin America, which provides cable services in 20 countries, and Sunrise Communications AG, which is Switzerland’s second-largest telecom provider.

Malone emphasized cash flow over profits and generated a tremendous amount of wealth for his investors, including himself, across decades. TCI shares had an annual compounded return of 30% between 1973 to 1998, while Liberty Media returned 24% a year on average between 2006 to 2018. Returns have slowed since then.

Malone’s long-term record has triggered comparisons to Warren Buffett, although Malone, who describes himself as having high-functioning autism, has preferred to keep a much lower profile. While he has long helped shape what is in the media spotlight, he has avoided stepping into it.

Liberty Media now primarily consists of two branches: Formula One Group, ticker FWONA, which has a market value of $23.6 billion and Liberty Live Group, ticker LLYVA, which has a value of $8.3 billion.

As of Aug. 31, the company said Malone had 49.5% voting control of the Formula One common stock and 48.9% of the Liberty Live common stock. Forbes estimates Malone has a net worth of $11.1 billion. He owns about 2.2 million acres of land, making him the country’s second largest private land owner, with holdings concentrated in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Florida and Maine.

Unlike his business holdings, his land holdings are more focused on conservation and preservation rather than extracting a financial return.

Last month, Malone released an autobiography, “Born to be Wired” that details his years spent transforming television, helping wire the country for the internet, and growing multiple companies under the Liberty Media umbrella.

The company, one of the largest private sector employers in the state, said it would close its West Division headquarters at 9401 E. Panorama Circle in Centennial as part of a larger streamlining that will remove all three divisional headquarters.

“The West Division operating division will cease to exist beginning in 2026, after which the facility will be closed. These organizational changes will result in the permanent layoff of approximately 302 employees,” Elizabeth Peetz, Comcast’s vice president of state government affairs, wrote in a letter submitted to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

Positions cut include 72 financial analysts, 25 vice presidents, 24 finance managers and several communications and government relations positions. The company plans to maintain its regional and operational presence, which represents the lion’s share of its workforce, and said that customers shouldn’t notice any difference.

Peetz said Comcast will work to relocate affected employees to other positions within the company. Those who can’t be placed elsewhere and who remain through the closure date will be entitled to severance benefits.

Comcast����ap CEO Dave Watson and Chief Operating Officer Steve Croney announced on Sept. 18 that the company would eliminate its three divisions, which were sandwiched between corporate headquarters in Philadelphia and 13 regional offices.

The Centennial office was prominent in that divisional system, overseeing activities in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming and Montana. Going forward, metro Denver will remain the hub for the Mountain West Division, supervising Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado.

Starting next year, regions will report directly to Amy Lynch, who holds the newly created title of President of Regional Operations, and Lynch will report to Croney.

“With this change, our HQ teams will design strategy, while our field teams will execute – grounding the work in local insights and customer experience. This model will enable faster decision-making, better use of data and technology, and stronger execution in a highly competitive environment,” Watson and Croney said in their letter last month.

They also said the cuts weren’t a “reflection of anyone’s contributions,” but a “simplifying how we work so we can compete more effectively and position the company for the future.”

“Comcast continues to value its partnership with the community and has invested more than $1.2 billion in technology and infrastructure in Colorado in the past three years,” Peetz said.

She added that Comcast is working with the state to provide $7 million in matching funds under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program, which seeks to expand high-speed internet access in underserved areas.