Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avs games will air on steaming service, local TV

Watching the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets just got a lot easier.

State of play: On Thursday, the team's owner Kroenke Sports & Entertainment announced a broadcasting rights agreement to air Avs and Nuggets games for free on local stations.

• 20 Nuggets games and 20 Avs games will be televised on My20. Ten games will also air on KUSA-9, the local NBC affiliate. TEGNA owns the sister stations.

Why it matters: The deal gives fans the chance to watch two championship - caliber teams at home for the first time in nearly five years.

• Games had been blacked out for Comcast subscribers during that time. The local audience can now use a mix of streaming and over-the-air broadcasts to sidestep Comcast.

The intrigue: Meanwhile, Altitude Sports will air games on its new streaming service, Altitude+. All games not televised on a national network will be available to stream.

• The service will cost $19.95 per month, and is available to download on iOS and Android devices.

Zoom in: The two teams shared their games scheduled to be aired locally on Thursday.

Between the lines: The app will also air regional coverage of Colorado State, University of Denver and Air Force Academy athletics.

• The Altitude Sports network will remain available for DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, Fubo and Spectrum TV subscribers.

The big picture: Many NBA and NHL teams that are leaving their regional sports networks (RSNs) have opted for a hybrid model that includes over-the-air broadcast stations and streaming, sacrificing revenue to try to reach more fans, Axios' Sara Fischer and Tim Baysinger write .

What's next: Nearly 3.5 million people in metro Denver will have access to the games, per an Altitude Sports statement. The Colorado Avalanche start their season Oct. 9, and the Denver Nuggets kick off Oct. 24 .