Altitude Sports Wants Fans To Stick Around After the Game for Onsite Studio Show

The set, with a 16- x 8-ft. video wall, is at Colorado Social bar on the Club Level of Ball Arena

Altitude Sports & Entertainment is flipping the script on postgame coverage at Denver’s Ball Arena, thanks to both creative thinking and a business need for new permanent space.

For almost 20 years, pre/postgame shows at Ball Arena have emanated from Section 136, but, with increased space dedicated to premium seating, a new broadcast setup had to be devised.

Postgame show Late Night at Ball Arena boasts a curved set and 16-ft.-long x 8-ft.-tall video wall.

Meanwhile, Altitude Sports & Entertainment SVP/GM Matthew Krol was thinking about scrapping the traditional look of the pre/postgame shows. Several months ago, he emailed Kroenke Sports & Entertainment President, Team and Media Operations, Kevin Demof with an idea.

“He was going to love the idea or hate it,” says Krol. “I wanted it to be more entertaining because we’re in the business to entertain but also inform. The current model is antiquated. So I emailed him, and he loved the idea.”

The result: Late Night at Ball Arena. Krol aimed to create a more interactive format and provide an opportunity for fans to ask questions not only of the broadcast talent but also of Avalanche and Nuggets players and celebrity guests.

Current and former players are among guests in a format that encourages questions from a 250-person audience.

Colorado Social, a bar on the Club Level of Ball Arena, serves as the new location, which features a curved set and 16-ft.-long x 8-ft.-tall video wall. “That’s the highlight of the set,” Krol says.

Altitude Sports worked on set design with Denver-based Scenic Mercenary and its owner, David Schulte. Construction started before Halloween and finished in time for a Nov. 2 debut.

So far, Krol says, the shows and set have been a total success among players and staff, and positive comments about the live-audience component around Colorado Social continue to come in on social media. He has noticed that fans aren’t sitting in the bar area and talking with their friends; they’re watching the show and listening to the conversation. “That’s exactly what I wanted,” he says. “It’s an event at Ball Arena after the game.”

Altitude Sports worked on set design with Denver-based Scenic Mercenary and its owner, David Schulte. 

Krol encourages Altitude staffers to promote to fans that they can either sit in traffic or visit Colorado Social for 45 minutes after a game, drink a beer and grab a bite to eat, and watch the postgame show where their favorite Avalanche or Nuggets player might make an appearance.

Postgame guests have included University of Colorado Boulder men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle and Avalanche President, Hockey Operations, Joe Sakic, the latter discussing game highlights and fielding questions from a 250-person audience at Colorado Social. Krol says he has booked a comedian guest for some time in January, with an eye toward broadening the postgame show’s appeal.

“You see Snoop Dogg at the Olympics,” he adds. “Everybody’s like, ‘Why is Snoop Dogg at the Olympics?’ Well, we want that same kind of experience: ‘Oh, so and so is on that show? I want to go up there and watch.’ I want to draw people in and make it an experience that extends what you can consume at Ball Arena.”

Construction on the new set started before Halloween and finished in time for a Nov. 2 debut.

New Distribution Deals Expand Reach

According to Krol, Demoff and KSE Media Ventures President Steve Smith “wanted to get a chip in every square.” Translation: Let’s make sure we provide fans access to Avalanche and Nuggets wherever they reside.

Mission accomplished. Altitude Sports recently inked a media-rights agreement with TEGNA to air 20 games each for the Nuggets and Avalanche for free in-market on KUSA-TV and KTVD-TV. The regional sports network also continues to broadcast games locally for subscribers across several other platforms, including DIRECTV, Stream DIRECTV, Fubo, and Spectrum TV.

In addition, Altitude+ direct-to-consumer streaming app launched in October and provides access to more than 65 Avalanche and Nuggets games for the current season at $19.95 per month.

The app currently provides 24/7 access to the Altitude Sports network, pre/postgame shows for the Avalanche and Nuggets, and regional coverage of some colleges — including Colorado State, University of Denver, and the Air Force Academy — and will eventually offer video on-demand content and behind-the-scenes shows, according to Krol (he doesn’t provide a timeline for integration of the additional content). Though not providing specific subscriber numbers for the Altitude+ app, Krol says figures have “exceeded expectations” to date.