Seventy-five of the 115 employees of Comcast SportsNet Houston were informed Tuesday their jobs will be eliminated if a bankruptcy judge approves a plan backed by the Astros and Rockets to sell the financially troubled network to DirecTV and AT&T.

Employees were informed of the potential layoffs as mandated by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires companies with at least 100 workers to provide 60-day notice in advance of certain plant closings or mass layoffs.

As company officials delivered the news, one employee said a funereal atmosphere descended over the network’s studios in downtown Houston, midway between Minute Maid Park and Toyota Center.

“You just watched rows and rows of people walk into a room and come out with letters telling them, ‘Hey, thanks for two years, and now you’ve got nothing,’” the employee said. “There wasn’t a lot of outward anger. It was pretty subdued.”

But after the announcements, another employee said, “Everybody was back at their desks, working on the next show.”

Based on details in letters prepared for city and state officials, 40 employees were notified their jobs will be retained by the AT&T/DirecTV partnership, which will rebrand CSN Houston as Root Sports Houston under a Chapter 11 reorganization plan pending before Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur.

Isgur is scheduled to decide Oct. 2 whether to approve the plan, which is opposed by Comcast. If the reorganization is not approved, the Astros-Rockets-Comcast partnership will be liquidated and all jobs eliminated.

Root Sports will include distribution on DirecTV and AT&T U-verse in addition to Comcast. The AT&T/DirecTV partnership plans to drop its contract for Dynamo games, but team officials say the network has expressed interest in a new deal for the 2015 season.

Most employees who will be retained for Root Sports Houston are employed in game production. Also retained will be Rockets broadcasters Bill Worrell, Matt Bullard and Calvin Murphy; Astros field reporter Julia Morales; and sportscasters Bart Enis and Kevin Eschenfelder.

Astros announcers Bill Brown, Alan Ashby and Geoff Blum and Rockets analyst Clyde Drexler are team employees and are not affected.

Among those whose contracts are not being retained by AT&T/DirecTV, according to court documents, include reporters and anchors Tiffany Blackmon, Steve Bunin, Howard Chen, Bill Doleman, Sara Eckert, Cory Hepola, Kelli Johnson, John Kelly, James Palmer, Marius Payton, Leila Rahimi and Sebastian Salazar.

Several of those likely will be offered jobs with other NBC Sports Group networks. Johnson, Doleman, Palmer and Payton came to Houston from other NBC-owned networks.

The announcement came on the same day it was announced that CSN Houston has been nominated for 16 regional Emmy Awards, including several of those who face layoffs next month.

“The dedication and quality of work that CSN Houston employees have demonstrated throughout these uncertain times is commendable,” said a statement from the NBC Sports Group, which is part of the Houston Regional Sports Network partnership and provides management services.

Officials with both teams also praised employees who have continued to work during the year the network has been in bankruptcy.

“This is an unfortunate situation that was unavoidable,” the Astros’ Ryan said. “The Astro and Rockets have kept this network afloat through cash calls and foregoing our rights payments this season. We feel we have done everything we could do to keep this network viable.

“A lot of these people I’ve known from back in the Fox (Sports Southwest) days and from when my dad (Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan) was playing. They have done their best to make the network the best it can be … and I want to thank them for their efforts.”

Rockets CEO Tad Brown described the notifications as “a difficult day,” adding, “I feel badly for the great people who have been doing terrific work. We have tried to put together a plan of reorganization to preserve as many jobs as possible and deliver a first-class network.”

Root Sports networks in Denver, Seattle and Pittsburgh do not offer newscasts and weekday talk programs offered by CSN Houston, so those jobs are among those to be eliminated.

However, for viewers who have been frustrated by being unable to watch most Rockets and Astros games for two years, Brown said, “Fans will be able to see the teams and the network with almost full carriage across the region.”

Unlike the Rockets and Astros, the Dynamo had no ownership in the Houston Regional Sports Network partnership, and its contract will not be picked up by AT&T/DirecTV. However, team president Chris Canetti said the prospective owners have expressed interest in an agreement for 2015.

“We are disappointed that our contract was rejected, but that is common in bankruptcy,” he said. “We have heard from (DirecTV Sports Networks) there is interest going forward, and we will explore our options. We have made great progress and hope to keep it going forward.”

Canetti noted that Root Sports carries MLS teams in Portland, Salt Lake City and Seattle.

If Isgur approves the reorganization plan, DirecTV and AT&T will become sole owners of the network and will add carriage on DirecTV and AT&T U-verse in addition to Comcast. They also will attempt to arrange deals with Dish Network, Suddenlink and others.

Team officials are confident Isgur will approve the plan as the best option for the teams, employees and creditors. Comcast, however, believes Isgur will be unable to confirm the plan, under which AT&T and DirecTV will receive the network essentially free of charge and will not be responsible for existing debts.