History
AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain was originally launched on November 15, 1988, as the Prime Sports Network, a joint venture between Bill Daniels, UA-Columbia Cablevision, United Cable (controlled by Tele-Communications Inc., TCI), and AT&T SportsNet Southwest, Home Sports Entertainment. The first live event ever shown on the network was a Denver Nuggets - Los Angeles Lakers National Basketball Association, NBA game. The network was originally broadcast from 5 p.m. to midnight weekdays and 11 a.m. to midnight on weekends. Additional programming included the Denver Zephyrs (minor-league baseball), college games from the Big Eight Conference, Big Eight, the Western Athletic Conference, Western Athletic and the Missouri Valley Conference, Missouri Valley conferences, and Denver University hockey. Additionally, there was coverage of skiing, hunting, fishing, rodeo, boxing, tennis, and golf. The network was one of the original members of the Prime Sports, Prime Sports Network, a group of regional sports networks formed in 1989 as a partnership between Bill Daniels and TCI. It was officially renamed Prime Sports Network- Rocky Mountain to avoid confusion with the group which now had the same name. However, it still was often referred to on-air as "Prime Sport Network" or simply "PSN". In spring 1995, the network was renamed Prime Sports Rocky Mountain as part of a larger rebranding of the Prime's RSNs. In October 1995, News Corporation (1980–2013), News Corporation, which formed a sports division for the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network two years earlier after it obtained the broadcast rights to the National Football Conference and sought to create a group of regional sports networks, acquired a 50% interest in the Prime Network from TCI parent Liberty Media. Later that year on November 1, News Corporation and Liberty Media relaunched the Prime Network affiliates as part of the new Fox Sports Networks, Fox Sports Net group, with the Denver-based network officially rebranding as Fox Sports Rocky Mountain. The channel was rebranded as Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain in 2000, as part of a collective brand modification of the FSN networks under the "Fox Sports Net" banner; subsequently in 2004, the channel shortened its name to FSN Rocky Mountain, through the networks' de-emphasis of the "Fox Sports Net" brand. On December 22, 2006, News Corporation sold its interest in FSN Rocky Mountain and sister networks Root Sports Utah, FSN Utah, FSN Northwest and Root Sports Pittsburgh, FSN Pittsburgh to Liberty Media, in an asset trade in which News Corporation also traded its 38.5% ownership stake in satellite provider DirecTV for $550 million in cash and stock, in exchange for Liberty Media's 16.3% stake in the company. On May 4, 2009, DirecTV Group Inc. announced it would become a part of Liberty's entertainment unit, part of which would then be corporate spin-off, spun off into the separate company under the DirecTV name, in a deal in which Liberty would increase its share in DirecTV from 48% to 54%, with Liberty owner John C. Malone, John Malone and his family owning a 24% interest. DirecTV would operate its newly acquired FSN-affiliated networks through DirecTV Sports Networks, a new division formed when the split off from Liberty Media was completed on November 19, 2009. On December 17, 2010, DirecTV Sports Networks announced that its four Fox Sports Networks-affiliated regional outlets – FSN Rocky Mountain, FSN Pittsburgh, FSN Northwest and FSN Utah – would be relaunched under the "Root Sports" brand. The network officially rebranded as Root Sports Rocky Mountain on April 1, 2011, with ''The Dan Patrick Show'' as the first program to air under the new brand. For nominal purposes, the Root Sports networks continued to carry programming distributed mainly to the Fox Sports regional networks to provide supplementary sports and entertainment programming. On June 12, 2017, AT&T Sports Networks announced that the network, along with Root Sports Southwest, Root Sports Pittsburgh, and Root Sports Utah, will rebrand under the name AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, with all network programming and on-air talent remaining intact. The name change took effect on July 14, 2017. On October 1, 2021, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, along with sister networks AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, and Root Sports Northwest, was removed from Dish Network satellite and Sling streaming TV services.Programming
Professional sports
AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain holds the regional cable television rights to Major League Baseball, MLB's Colorado Rockies, the National Basketball Association, NBA's Utah Jazz, the National Hockey League, NHL's Vegas Golden Knights, and Women’s National Basketball Association, WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. The network airs pregame and postgame shows before and after all Rockies, Jazz, and Golden Knights games that it produces, as well as postgame shows for additional Golden Knights games that it does not televise. Additionally, the station produces and airs several Rockies insider programs, including ''The Club: Colorado Rockies'', ''Rockies Double Play'', and ''Rockies Real Time,'' and one Golden Knights insider program'', Knight Life.'' Currently, the network does not air any ancillary shows for any of their other professional sports programming (other than the Jazz pregame and postgame shows), with some rare exceptions, including a 2018 documentary titled ''Hot Rod: The Untold Story of Hot Rod Hundley'', that chronicled the life and career of the former Utah Jazz announcer.College sports
The network also carries many collegiate sports events, including Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls, Wyoming Cowboys/Cowgirls basketball, West Coast Conference basketball, and Colorado College Tigers, Colorado College hockey.Former programming
Professional sports
The channel formerly served as the regional cable broadcaster of the National Basketball Association, NBA's Denver Nuggets and the National Hockey League, NHL's Colorado Avalanche, losing the broadcast rights in 2004 when the owner of both teams, Stan Kroenke, launched the competing regional sports network Altitude Sports and Entertainment. The station also served as the regional home of select Western Hockey League broadcasts, beginning with the 2009–10 season and ending with the 2014–15 season.College and high school sports
* Denver Pioneers hockey and men's and women's basketball (now on Altitude Sports and Entertainment) * Colorado Buffaloes sporting events and insider programming (now on Pac-12 Network) * Big Sky Conference football (now on Scripps TV Station Group, Scripps TV affiliates) * Mountain West Conference football and men's basketball (The network still airs a minimal amount of Wyoming men's and women's basketball, as mentioned above.) * Colorado High School Activities Association football was also a network staple until Altitude took over broadcasting rights beginning with the 2013 season.Regional subfeeds
West subfeed
On May 23, 2017, it was announced that the network had acquired the regional cable rights to the new Vegas Golden Knights NHL expansion team. These telecasts are available in all of Nevada, and parts of Arizona, and California, including all of San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County, as well as Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho. The games are also made available on sister network Root Sports Northwest in northern Idaho and Montana. In June 2018, AT&T SportsNet acquired rights to the newly-relocated Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA.Utah subfeed
In late 1989, TCI launched Prime Sports Network-Utah as a replacement from their game-only Jazz Cable Network. Although it originally was considered a separate network, at some point it began to operate as a subfeed with almost identical programming. The main feature of this Utah-based network had always been Utah Jazz basketball games. Over the years it was known as Prime Sports Intermountain West, Fox Sports Utah and finally Root Sports Utah. When AT&T took over the network all Utah branding was dropped and it now operates as a true subfeed. Jazz games produced by AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain are also available in Idaho and Montana on sister-network Root Sports Northwest.On-air staff
Current on-air staff
;Colorado Rockies * Kelsey Wingert – Rockies pre-game and post-game host, on field reporter * Jenny Cavnar – Rockies pre-game and post-game host, fill in play by play, on field reporter * Drew Goodman – Rockies play-by-play and college basketball and football play-by-play * Jeff Huson – Rockies color analyst, pre-game and post-game analyst * Marc Stout – Rockies pre-game and post-game host, on field reporter * Ryan Spilborghs – Rockies color analyst, pre-game and post-game analyst, on field reporter * Cory Sullivan – Rockies pre-game and post-game analyst * Jack Corrigan (sportscaster), Jack Corrigan – Rockies fill in play by play ; Las Vegas Aces * Anne Marie Anderson – Aces play-by-play * Rushia Brown – Aces color commentary * Amanda Pflugrad – Aces sideline reporter * Katy Winge – Aces sideline reporter ;Utah Jazz * Thurl Bailey – Utah Jazz color commentary * Craig Bolerjack – Utah Jazz play-by-play * Alema Harrington – ''Jazz Live'' studio host * Holly Rowe – Utah Jazz color commentary * Michael Smith (basketball, born 1965), Michael Smith – ''Jazz Live'' studio analyst ;Vegas Golden Knights * Darren Eliot – Golden Knights studio analyst * Dave Goucher – Golden Knights play-by-play * Shane Hnidy – Golden Knights analyst * Stormy Buonantony – Golden Knights reporter * Mike McKenna (ice hockey) – Golden Knights studio analyst * Daren Millard – Golden Knights studio host ;College sports * Ceal Barry – college basketball analyst * Sherdrick Bonner – college football analyst * Drew Goodman – college basketball and football play-by-play announcer * Charlie Host – college hockey analyst * Mark Johnson – college football analyst * Jay Leeuwenburg – college football analyst * Taylor McGregor – college football sideline reporter * Brad Thompson – college football sideline reporter * Darius Walker – college football analyst * Ari Wolfe – college football play-by-play announcerReferences
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:ATandT SportsNet Rocky Mountain 1988 establishments in Colorado AT&T SportsNet Bally Sports Fox Sports Networks Prime Sports Sports in Denver Television channels and stations established in 1988 Television stations in Denver