The Rockies’ TV future is in limbo.
AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain notified its employees that the regional sports network is shutting down, according to multiple sources close to the situation. The last day of work for full-time employees at the network is Oct. 6, although it will continue running through at least the end of the year.
That leaves a giant question mark as to how Colorado fans will watch their team’s games, in the wake of Warner Bros. Discovery’s transfer of regional TV rights back to their respective MLB teams.
Among the potential options to take over production and distribution of local broadcasts are Major League Baseball or Stan Kroenke’s Altitude TV, which is already home to the Nuggets, Avalanche and Mammoth. That is unless the Rockies opt to pick up the broadcasts, which they have yet to indicate they will do.
If the Rockies landed with Altitude, that would mean Comcast customers would be left in the dark because of the ongoing standoff between the cable distributor and Altitude.
If the Rockies were to go through MLB, that would give viewers two potential avenues to watch games — either by streaming digitally via MLB.TV, or through specific channels on various cable providers. While both would require viewers to pay a fee, the Rockies would still be challenged to match the amount of revenue they’d been accustomed to receiving from the regional network model. AT&T SportsNet has broadcast Rockies games since 1997.
For AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain’s on-air talent, such as Drew Goodman, Jeff Huson, Ryan Spilborghs, Cory Sullivan and Jenny Cavnar, their futures are also in limbo despite being independent contractors. There is a chance that same cast could return to the Rockies’ new broadcasting platform in 2024.
Goodman has been the Rockies’ play-by-play voice for 22 seasons, while Huson has done color commentary for the club for 18 years, and Cavnar has broken through glass ceilings in the broadcast booth.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated when AT&T Sports Network Rocky Mountain would fully shut down.
