Altitude Sports & Entertainment Prepping For Saturday Launch
Kroenke Sports Enterprises’ Altitude Sports & Entertainment network launches Saturday with an MLS Rapids game, Avalanche highlights and a show about the Nuggets’ dancers, according to Chris Walsh of the ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. Programming in the first month will also include billiards, baseball, kickboxing and CFL games. Altitude CEO Jim Martin said that the net’s programming “will get stronger this fall when the Nuggets and Avalanche begin play.” Martin: “I would classify our initial programming as being our own preseason. It gives us a fair amount of time to work out the bugs. Our programming will be good at first, but it will grow and get better over time.” But Walsh notes Altitude “could find itself in a hole later this year” because of the NHL labor dispute (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 9/1). CARRIAGE: Altitude is currently available on Dish Network, Adelphia, and several smaller cable operators. Martin said that the net will debut with 850,000-1 million subscribers. In Denver, Jason Blevins notes one “sticking point” in the net’s negotiations with Comcast, the “nation's largest cable provider and the largest in Colorado” with 680,000 subs, “may be Comcast’s desire to own a piece of Altitude.” California-based Carmel Group President Sean Badding said, “Owning some content has been Comcast’s strategy from Day One.” But Matt Bortz, President of Denver-based consulting firm Bortz Sports/GBSM, said of Altitude, “I would be surprised if they don’t get a deal done with Comcast at some point by the end of this year. They certainly have the cornerstone programming” (DENVER POST, 9/1).
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