Altitude Sports said that the Nuggets' home opener against the Suns on Friday "will be televised locally" by KTVD-TV, according to the DENVER POST. Altitude and its carriers Comcast, DirecTV and Dish have been "unable to come to an agreement" after their contracts "expired at the end of August." Kroenke Sports & Entertainment Exec VP & COO Matt Hutchings said, "In the interim, we have purchased air time on [KTVD] to broadcast the Denver Nuggets home opener. ... We are actively pursuing a similar broadcast opportunity for our Avalanche fans" (DENVER POST, 10/19).
A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME: In Denver, Mike Singer cites a source as saying that the current plan to address the disagreement would "involve multiple companies affected by Altitude Sports' current TV dispute, including local bars and alcohol distributors, to provide television broadcasts of the games." Singer notes at least one Denver-area bar "opted to show patrons a pirated transmission" of last night's Avalanche-Blues game. Hutchings, who also serves as COO of Altitude, said, "We do not condone illegal streaming. We are in the process of reaching a solution on a broad front, which would give restaurants and bars legal means to broadcast the games" (DENVER POST, 10/22).
