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Altitude Files Lawsuit Against Comcast

“Unable to reach a deal with Comcast, Altitude Sports is claiming the cable provider has negotiated unreasonably in hopes of eventually supplanting the independently owned network with one of their own RSNs.”

Brandon Contes

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Denver’s Altitude Sports is going to battle with Comcast, alleging the cable giant wants to drive out the independently owned RSN and replace it with one of their own. Altitude is controlled by Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, the same company that owns the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids (MLS) and the Los Angeles Rams.

In August, Altitude was blacked out on DirecTV, Comcast and DISH Network, leaving Denver sports fans unable to watch their local teams as the NHL and NBA seasons began. On Halloween, Altitude announced they reached an agreement to relaunch the network on AT&T’s DirecTV, but the network remains dark on Comcast and DISH. 

Unable to reach a deal with Comcast, Altitude Sports is claiming the cable provider has negotiated unreasonably in hopes of eventually supplanting the independently owned network with one of their own RSNs. According to Altitude, Comcast has sought lower payouts and to remove the network from their basic cable package, but the cable provider does not impose similar terms on their own RSNs.

A majority of RSNs in the country are owned by either Comcast, AT&T or Sinclair Broadcasting Corp. Altitude is among the lesser amount of independently owned RSNs, such as MSG Networks and the New England Sports Network.

“During the same fifteen years of the relationship between Comcast and Altitude, Comcast has acquired independent RSNs all over the country in order to reduce competition for the licensing of sports programming,” the lawsuit states according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Comcast has also engaged in a series of large mergers and acquisitions that strengthen its control over multichannel television distribution in the Denver DMA and around the country.”

“Against this backdrop, in the past year, Comcast began making demands in negotiations with Altitude that Comcast knew made no economic sense and would drive Altitude out of business,” the lawsuit continued.” The demands represent dramatic cuts in rates to be paid to Altitude. Comcast’s proposals would also require subscribers that want to receive Altitude’s programming to pay even more to Comcast each month by moving Altitude from one of Comcast’s more widely distributed packages of channels to a package of television programming services for which the customer would have to pay an additional fee.”

Comcast responded to the allegations, calling them “meritless,” adding that they provided their customers with a credit, as seen in the Tweet below.

Earlier this month, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser began exploring why DirecTV and Comcast continued charging RSN fees after they stopped distribution of the Altitude Sports Network. Comcast ultimately gave customers a credit of $1.25, the amount they deemed the Altitude Sports Network to be worth to each monthly cable subscriber.

Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here

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Final ‘Good Morning Football’ Episode from New York Studio Airs Before Hiatus, Move to LA

After today, ‘Good Morning Football’ will take a brief hiatus, then move to LA. But outside of host Jamie Erdahl, who else will join the show on the West Coast?

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Good Morning Football

Today marks the last Good Morning Football episode to air from its New York studios on NFL Network. After today, the show will take a brief hiatus, then move across the country to Los Angeles. But which of the shows beloved cast members will move along with it?

We already know host Jamie Erdahl will be there once she gives birth to her child. The newest GMFB show member gave an emotional send-off to the show’s New York studios before announcing she was headed for maternity leave and would see everyone in LA.

Host Kyle Brandt delivered this message late last night, saying that viewers should tune in to he and his colleagues and that “he has a lot to say.”

Earlier this week, however, host Peter Schrager delivered his own goodbye message — one that may sound like a man who’s not ready to move his family across the country at a moment’s notice:

However, no hosts outside of Erdahl have given confirmation that they’re either staying or going.

The NFL’s move to take the show from New York to Los Angeles has been widely criticized by fans and media members alike. Bill Simmons wondered if the move wouldn’t spell just the end of GMFB but the NFL Network as a whole. It has some wondering if this is the end of football’s best show.

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ESPN Coverage of Men’s NIT Tournament Quarterfinals Up 33% vs. 2023

Viewership of the Men’s NIT Quarterfinals on ESPN were up 33 percent compared to last year and featured two games that averaged over one million viewers.

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Even the NIT is riding the recent hot streak of live sports viewership numbers. According to data provided by ESPN, the 2024 NIT Quarterfinals are up 33 percent compared to last year’s tournament. Perhaps more surprisingly, two NIT quarterfinal games topped one million viewers.

The network’s Georgia/Ohio State matchup averaged 1.03 million viewers, while the Cincinnati/Indiana State contest averaged 1.02 million viewers. These two games were the most-watched NIT games since 2017 — including title games. Both Georgia and Ohio State have rabid fanbases, while many thought Indiana State was unjustly left out of the March Madness tournament, which could be a reason why viewers tuned in.

Much of the focus this season has been on the women’s game, thanks to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, led by Dawn Staley. ESPN just had its most-watched women’s college basketball season since 2008-09 because of the increased interest in the women’s game. The men’s game, however, hasn’t been heralded as much this season for whatever reason, mostly because numbers seem to be holding steady compared to previous years. However, if the NIT is posting viewership wins, that should bode well for the NCAA Tournament’s incoming viewership totals.

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Report: NFL to Put Christmas Day Doubleheader Up For Bids

Bidding is expected to start at $50 million among the current NFL media partners but some think the games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

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The NFL will reportedly put its Christmas Day games up for auction, allowing its current media partners to bid for the games. Now, it’s up to CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video to pay up for rights to one of these two marquee games.

According to Front Office Sports Michael McCarthy, preference will be given to linear networks, so Prime Video and Peacock may sit this one out. Bidding is expected to start at $50 million but McCarthy and his sources expect that number to rise. John Kosner, the former ESPN executive, thinks the new Christmas Day games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

The NFL announced a Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader during its annual league meetings. The league originally said it wouldn’t force games on Christmas Day if the holiday fell on an odd day of the week, though as the NFL continues to put games on days outside of Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays, we’re running out of days that don’t feature NFL football.

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