Thousands of local viewers could soon be unable to watch Nuggets, Avalanche and Rapids games if Altitude Sports is unable to come to an agreement with its three largest distributors.

Contracts with Comcast, DIRECTV and DISH Network are set to expire this week without an agreement in place, according to the Kroenke-owned sports channel. That would put Avs and Nuggets games, among others, in jeopardy for Denver-area viewers.

The agreement with DISH Network expires Wednesday, while deals with Comcast and DIRECTV end this upcoming Saturday.

“I’m very concerned,” said Jim Martin, president/CEO of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment. “We have a situation where all three major carriers have come back at the eleventh hour with pretty much the same proposal and the same position of refusing to negotiate or budge off of that. To me, that’s kind of unprecedented that they would all do the same thing at the same time.

“Maybe they think we’re an easy target because we’re an independent. You don’t see any of them doing it to each other. You don’t see DIRECTV doing this to Comcast’s regional networks or vice versa.”

The partnership between Altitude and the three distributors dates back to 2004. The initial contract was for 10 years. In 2014, the sides reached a five-year extension, which saw eight percent annual rate increases throughout the duration for all three carriers, according to Martin. Altitude’s new proposal includes five percent rate increases, including a flat first year.

“Comcast made us a proposal which they refuse to budge off of, which proposed 60 percent plus cuts in our rates plus taking us to a sports tier as opposed to a basic package, so we would have 60 percent less per subscriber and we’d have only 15-20 percent of the subscribers that we have now,” Martin said. “The reality of professional sports these days is you have to have broad-based distribution or it’s not a viable situation.”

According to Altitude’s release, the carriage terms being requested by each individual distributor would make “Altitude’s business unsustainable.”

Comcast, in a statement to The Denver Post, claimed Altitude has “demanded significant annual price increases” throughout their agreement.

“We want to reach an agreement with Altitude, but it must be at a reasonable price for our customers,” Comcast’s statement said. “Altitude has demanded significant annual price increases for the same content for years, which has driven up costs for all of our customers in Colorado and Utah, even though most of them do not watch the channel. Over the past year, more than 95% of Altitude subscribers watched less than the equivalent of a game per week. The price increase Altitude is again demanding is unacceptable given the network’s low viewership. We have submitted a proposal to Altitude that we believe reflects the value of its programming and are hopeful Altitude will accept it so we can continue to carry the network for those customers who want to watch it.”

Matt Hutchings, president of Altitude Sports, released a response to Comcast’s statement on negotiations denying that Altitude has requested a significant increase in fees.

“Comcast is demanding that Altitude take a substantial and economically unviable reduction in fees,” Hutchings’ statement read. “The cable company has never proposed reducing fees to its customers; yet it continues to find ways to increase rates, including creating a tier that would take a city’s treasured sports teams off its most basic cable package.”

Altitude executives have discussed a potential streaming option but don’t see it as financially sustainable.

“The streaming option does not allow you to reach enough viewers to make a sustainable business,” Martin said. “It just doesn’t work. … You have to have broad-based distribution. Comcast and DIRECTV both know that, that’s why they do that with their own networks. If they thought a different model worked, I think maybe they should go lead the charge, do it with their own networks and show us how they make it work, and then we’ll follow.” Related Articles Down 3-1 again, Nuggets are blaming themselves, not NBA refs: “We put ourselves in this position”

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The Avalanche open their season Oct. 3, and the Nuggets open their season Oct. 23. Both franchises are coming off strong postseason runs and have bright futures, which could be leveraged in negotiations.

“It gives us an opportunity, I think it gives the distributors an opportunity, too,” said Martin, of the upward trajectory of the two franchises. “Two really good teams starting out the season here that everybody is really looking forward to and excited about watching.”

He added that he’s willing to negotiate at any time.

DISH released the following statement to The Denver Post:

“DISH’s goal is to keep Altitude Sports available to our customers at a reasonable cost. We are unsure why Altitude has decided to involve customers in the contract negotiation process when there is still time for the two parties to reach a mutually beneficial deal.”

Both the Nuggets and Avalanche released statements urging their fans to contact their respective distributors.

“These Big Three media conglomerates want to play by their own rules and are making unrealistic demands on Altitude,” read the release from the Nuggets.