Kroenke Sports & Entertainment President/Team and Media Operations Kevin Demoff credited Denver Mayor Mike Johnston for his “persistence in urging on negotiations” between Altitude Sports and Comcast, according to Keeler & Durando of the DENVER POST. Johnston, who attended yesterday’s news conference wearing a Nuggets C Nikola Jokic jersey, described the multiyear blackout as a “tragedy.” Johnston said, “We’ve been working on just to bring everybody to the table. So I was doing a lot of shuttle diplomacy back and forth. … Keeping them at the table and just keeping them focused on how important this was for fans.” The two sides have reached a new carriage agreement that ends a “bitter contract dispute that caused local blackouts of Nuggets and Avalanche games dating back to September 2019.” Demoff, who “already worked closely” with Nuggets and Avalanche owner Stan Kroenke as president of the Rams, “took over Altitude oversight” in March 2024, “inheriting the Comcast stalemate” after Matt Hutchings resigned from KSE the previous month. Demoff said, “When I stood up here a year ago and promised that we would get these teams back on the air, I thought it would be quicker” (DENVER POST, 2/4).
(FINALLY) ON THE SAME PAGE: In Colorado Springs, Kyle Fredrickson noted KSE “did not disclose the length” of their new carriage agreement with Comcast. Demoff said that “there is a little bit of runway” to keep Avalanche and Nuggets games on the air. He called Altitude+ and the TEGNA agreement a “tremendous success” based on early viewership data. Demoff said, “It was helpful, and certainly a credit to Comcast, is they saw the ratings and saw the success of Altitude+. They knew that their customers wanted to be able to watch Altitude. I think there was a shared vision for getting these teams on (Comcast)” (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 2/4).
