Root Sports Southwest, the new telecast home of the Rockets and Astros, is on the air and will air its first Rockets game tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The channel, which replaces Comcast SportsNet Houston and is owned by DirecTV Sports Networks and AT&T Teleholdings, debuted at 6 a.m. on Comcast cable in addition to DirecTV and AT&T U-verse.

On Comcast, Root Sports Southwest is located at channels 39 and 639 in the same slot where CSN Houston aired. It also is located at channel 674 on DirecTV and 758/1758 on U-verse.

“We know these past two years have been tough for many Rockets and Astros fans who couldn’t cheer on their teams while sitting in front of their TVs at home,” said Patrick Crumb, president of DirecTV Sports Networks. “So we welcome this opportunity to work with the teams and the talented, passionate Houston-based network staff to deliver a high quality, innovative sports network that millions more families can enjoy.”

“This is a great day for Houston sports fans,” said Aaron Slator, AT&T’s president for content development. “Together with DirecTV Sports Networks, we’re excited to be able to offer Root Sports Southwest and bring the Rockets and Astros back into the homes of our U-verse customers.”

The launch of Root Sports Southwest brings to an end this portion of the CSN Houston bankruptcy court saga, which began in September 2013 when Comcast plunged the channel into an involuntary Chapter 11 case when it was unable to pay the Astros’ broadcast rights fees and the Astros were on the verge of retaking those rights, which would have doomed the network.

ATY&T and DirecTV will invest $50 million in the network, which is expected to continue losing money for at least the next two years, and the teams will lose their equity in the venture, which at one point was valued at $700 million.

In a letter to Rockets fans on the team website, Rockets CEO Tad Brown apologized to local fans for CSN Houston’s woes and said the Root Sports Southwest reboot was consistent with the team’s efforts to service its fans.

“We can’t change what has happened the past two years, but we’re very pleased to announce today that Rockets games are back on the air and broadcast to the entire Houston Rockets territory,” Brown wrote.

Astros owner Jim Crane said in a statement from the team, “Our goal has always been to secure a deal that will both provide broad coverage of Astros games for the fans and provide the financial revenue to enable us to compete for championships. We truly appreciate the patience that our fans have shown throughout this process. We are pleased that fans across our entire region will now have the chance to watch this young and exciting team.”

Still unaccounted for are Suddenlink, which by one estimate has nearly 60,000 subscribers in the Houston area, and Dish Network, which has about 300,000. Also apparently unaccounted for, at least for the moment, will be Time Warner Cable, which has systems throughout Texas and is in the process of merging with Comcast.

A Suddenlink spokesman said today, “We have been contacted by the new owners of the network and are scheduling time to talk further with them.” A Dish Network spokesperson said last week, “We’re interested in high-quality content at an appropriate value. If that balance can be struck, we’re willing to consider it.”

The channel’s website and program guide are at southwest.rootsports.com/ and the network’s Twitter feed is @ROOTSPORTSSW.