We’ve figured out the cheapest way to watch (almost) every Nuggets and Avalanche game with Altitude+ and more

The Denver Nuggets begin their regular season on Thursday with a home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 2024-25 season will bring two big changes: One is Russell Westbrook. The other is Altitude+, a new streaming service that aims to make it cheaper and easier for hometown fans to watch the Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche.

Altitude+ offers access to most Nuggets and Avalanche games for $19.95 per month. In addition, dozens of games will be broadcast for free on local over-the-air TV channels.

But there’s a catch. The new options will not be broadcast every single game. So we read the schedules and did the math to figure out the best options for watching the Nugs and Avs at each price point.

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How much do I have to pay to watch Nuggets and Avalanche?

Here’s an overview of how many sports you can get at different prices.

• Check out lots of games cheaply: Height+ Is $19.95/month, and wears it strong majority from Nuggets and Avalanche games, but in general not the national broadcasts. The service is only available in Altitude’s nine-state western region. It is unclear which devices and operating systems are supported.
• Regard some Play wirelessly for free: Antenna system starts about $10 and can be connected to many modern TVs without any subscription fees. This will cover about a quarter from Nuggets and Avalanche games, to broadcasts on 9News, My20 and the local ABC.
• Get (virtually) all games at the lowest price by combining things: This is difficult, but for $60/monthyou can get all Nuggets games and almost all Avalanche games. You need to combine Altitude+ with Sling and Sling’s innovative antenna-based device. More on that later.
• Spend more money on most/all games and other channels with less effort:
  • DirecTV: Starting at $59.99/month for about half the games, or $74.99 for almost all games. These prices include discounts for long contracts. Some Avalanche games on Hulu/ESPN+ are excluded.
  • Fubo TV: Starting at $79.99/month for almost all gameswith the exception of exclusive TNT games and some Avalanche games on Hulu/ESPN+
  • Spektrum TV: Pay $95/month for about half the games or $105/month for all Nuggets games and Avalanche games. Also offers access to several major streaming services.

Where will the Avalanche and Nuggets be on TV in 2024-25?

There are 82 games in the Nuggets’ regular season. Based on the information from KSE, we calculated this:

• 51 games will be available exclusively at height Platforms for local viewers, broadcast on both Altitude TV channels and the Altitude+ streaming service. Some of these games will also be broadcast nationally, but may be blacked out locally in favor of Altitude.
• 20 will be broadcast at the same time on Altitude platforms And transmitted wirelessly for free on 9News and/or My20.
• 6 will be broadcast exclusively on TNT, which is available on many cable and streaming TV packages
• 4 will be broadcast exclusively on ABC, which is available in some TV packages and free over the air
• Some games will also be broadcast on NBA television, but that is not relevant to viewers in Colorado, where NBA television broadcasts are blocked. These games will continue to be available on Altitude.

The Avalanche has 82 regular season games and has already played seven. From the remaining games we calculate:

• 45 games will be broadcast exclusively on Altitude platforms for local viewers. Some of these air nationally on TNT, but are blacked out locally in favor of Altitude.
• 20 games will be broadcast at the same time on Altitude platforms And transmitted wirelessly for free on 9News and/or My20.
• 5 will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN or ESPN2
• 3 will be broadcast exclusively on TNT And MAX
• 2 will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+ or Hulu

For more information, see the full Avalanche and Nuggets TV schedules.

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Height+

Kroenke Sports’ new streaming service costs $19.95 per month. (Five dollars more than the ad-free Netflix membership.)

The service, which launched this week, is initially available on iOS and Android mobile devices as well as web browsers. This will allow locals to watch most Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche seasons without subscribing to a more expensive TV package. It will also provide a new option for Comcast subscribers who have been without Altitude TV channels for five years due to a contract dispute.

You get all games except those broadcast exclusively on national channels. Pre- and post-game coverage, Altitude Sports originals and local college sports are also included.

Altitude+ will initially be available for iOS and Android devices as well as web browsers, but is expected to expand to other options in the near future.

The app’s technology platform, ViewLift, is compatible with Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung, Roku, LG, Fire TV, Vizio, Xbox and other platforms. According to ViewLift, Altitude+ will roll out to more devices “at the start of both teams’ regular seasons.”

Current TV package subscribers get free access to Altitude+ if for some reason this is more convenient than watching through their TV platform. Some TV services – DirectTV Stream and Fubo – have not yet been integrated into this option.

Altitude+ will only be usable within Altitude’s nine-state territory. Some of these states, like Montana and Arizona, only allow users to stream Avalanche games. If you travel somewhere else, it will stop working.

Watch dozens of local TV shows with one antenna

A cord cutter’s best friend, a television antenna receives over-the-air television signals to access a limited number of channels without the need for a monthly cable subscription.

A total of 40 Nuggets and Avalanche games will be broadcast over-the-air in a new agreement with 9News and its sister station My20. (It’s a little tricky: 9News will only broadcast 10 of these games, but My20 will broadcast the full 40-game series.)

The stations are only broadcasting these games via radio; They cannot be viewed on cable on the 9News or My20 channels. you too habit be available in the 9News+ app.

Additionally, you should still be able to use your TV tuner to watch local broadcasts of all games broadcast on ABC.

It’s not nothing, but you won’t get the whole season. If these broadcasts are the only way to watch games, they represent less than 25 percent of a regular season. (As a special treat, you can also watch most of the Broncos season for free with a TV tuner.)

Antennas vary in price and are available for as little as $10. Service is affected by location and weather.

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Combine Broadcast, Altitude+ and Sling

Sling offers a unique solution here.

It’s a super cheap streaming service, with Sling Orange costing $40 per month. For Denver sports fans, there’s ESPN and TNT. But it doesn’t include broadcasters like ABC, so you’ll miss some national games and other important broadcast events.

Sling has a solution. The company provides you with a small device called AirTV. You can connect AirTV to a cheap, tiny antenna somewhere in your house. It captures your local shows and then sends them over the Internet to your TV, phone or other devices. They will appear alongside the regular channels on Sling’s streaming service. You can also use an AirTV as a DVR to record over-the-air broadcasts if you connect an external hard drive or purchase a version with a hard drive. (Editor’s note: I swear it works.)

Sling also lacks regional sports networks like Altitude. But now you can add Altitude+ to get all the Nuggets games and almost all Avalanche games for $60 per month.

Deluxe streaming, cable and satellite options

There are different TV packages that give you some or all of the games. We looked at DirectTV, FuboTV and Spectrum TV, all of which can be streamed to devices instead of relying on home hardware.

DirecTV subscribers should be able to watch (almost) every single game of the season since they have access to national channels like ESPN, ABC and local Altitude Sports channels too. However, they are missing those few Avs games on ESPN+/Hulu.

DirecTV, Comcast’s biggest competitor in the Denver market, starts at $59.99 with a long contract. You must reach a level of at least $74.99 per month to get the Altitude games.

Fubo starts at $79.99 per month, which benefits you almost all for the Nugs and Avs. Fubo includes Altitude at this price. However, for certain reasons, there is currently no TNT. Additionally, the few ESPN+/Hulu games for the Avs are not included.

Spectrum TV is owned by Charter Communications. The most relevant option seems to be the $105/month plan, which gets you all Nuggets and Avalanche games. This package includes Altitude, ESPN+, Disney+ Basic and Paramount+ Essential – so good for the big spenders.

Spectrum also has a $95/month plan that offers far fewer Nugs and Avs games.

There are other cable-free cable box services, but DirectTV, Fubo, and Spectrum are the only ones with permission to stream Altitude Sports feeds.

So what’s your plan?

e-mail [email protected] to let us know what your strategy is (or isn’t) for another season of sports in Denver.