Sunday, September 25, 2005

Altitude Expands Distribution Areas in Montana, Utah

Under existing distribution agreements, Altitude Sports & Entertainment (Altitude) will soon expand its reach to include Comcast and Bresnan cable systems throughout Utah and Montana.

Beginning the weeks of September 22 and September 29, the regional sports and entertainment network will be available in Montana areas served by Bresnan including Billings (Ch. 71), Bozeman (Ch. 38), Butte (Ch. 34), Great Falls (Ch. 51), Helena (Ch. 27) and Missoula (Ch. 59), as well as Bresnan markets in Utah including Vernal (Ch. 64, beginning Oct. 3) and Cedar City (Ch. 67, beginning Oct. 18). Subscribers in those markets will now have access to Altitude’s sports and entertainment programming highlighted by Colorado Avalanche games, as well as exclusive Big Sky Football contests including the October 1 game between Idaho State and Montana State and the October 8 game between Montana State and Weber State.

Then on October 4, Comcast subscribers in Utah will have Altitude and the Colorado Avalanche available on Channel 65. Markets receiving Altitude will be Salt Lake City, Ogden, Provo, Logan, Heber and Midway. In addition to the Avalanche, Altitude’s Utah viewers will see other collegiate and professional sports, with the exception of the Denver Nuggets.

“This is going to be an exciting year for NHL and Avalanche fans – and we are very pleased that Avs fans throughout Utah and Montana can now see their team on Altitude,” said Phillip Mallios, Altitude’s Vice President of Affiliate Relations and Distribution. “Not only are the Avalanche back, but we’ve also added programming of great appeal to the region including exclusive Big Sky football games.”

“Comcast is pleased to be able to offer Altitude’s robust package of sports programming,” said Area Vice President of Comcast-Utah Scott Tenney. “Our customers will enjoy a variety of collegiate and professional sports they have not had access to before.”

Added Bresnan Executive Vice President of Operations Steve Brookstein: “We at Bresnan know how important local and regional sports are to our customers. Altitude’s sports lineup – highlighted by the return of the Colorado Avalanche -- will add significant choices from basketball to hockey to football to skiing, all designed with our Rocky Mountain customers in mind. We are thrilled to be able to launch this network.”

The addition of the approximately 300,000 new subscribers to Altitude now puts the regional sports network’s distribution throughout the Rocky Mountain West region at more than 2.5 million homes in Colorado, Utah, Montana, Idaho, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, New Mexico and Nevada.

Altitude is the television home of the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Mammoth, Colorado Rapids, Colorado Springs Sky Sox, Colorado Eagles, the Big Sky Conference, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Air Force Academy, Metro State, University of Northern Colorado and ESPN Syndication (including the Big XII Conference, Big Ten Conference and Western Athletic Conference events), as well as other local and regional sports and entertainment programming. A full list of Altitude programming and other information can be found at www.altitude.tv.

Contacts:

Altitude, Tom Philand, 303-405-1199
Comcast, Ray Child, 801-401-3277
Bresnan, Maureen Huff, 914-641-3324