Does Sling Tv Have Altitude Sports

Last Saturday, I found myself doing the classic Colorado shuffle: flipping between my phone’s sports app and the TV, desperately trying to find out if the Avalanche were winning. My buddy, a die-hard Nuggets fan, swore up and down that he’d cut the cord with Sling TV. “It’s got everything, dude,” he said, taking a dramatic sip of his IPA. Then I asked him the magic question—the one that makes every Denver sports fan wince: “Does it have Altitude Sports?” His silence was louder than the crowd at Ball Arena. And that, my friends, is how I ended up on a six-hour research rabbit hole that I’m about to drag you into.

So, let’s rip the band-aid off right away. The short, frustrating, and slightly annoying answer is: No, Sling TV does not carry Altitude Sports. As of right now, you won’t find the home of the Avalanche, Nuggets, or Rapids in any of Sling’s channel packages. Not the Orange, not the Blue, and definitely not in any add-on pack that requires a treasure map to find. It’s the digital equivalent of showing up to a steakhouse and finding out they only serve tofu.

And I know what you’re thinking—I can hear the collective groan from here. “But I heard they had a deal!” Yeah, I heard that too, about three years ago, when pigs were flying and Kroenke Sports was feeling generous. That deal fizzled out faster than a cheap firework, leaving Sling subscribers in a cold, dark, sports-less void. The two companies have been in a contract standoff for what feels like an eternity, with each side pointing fingers at the other about carriage fees and fairness. It’s like watching a divorce where the only casualty is your ability to watch playoff hockey.

Why Is This Happening to Us?

Here’s the tea, and it’s not sweet. Altitude Sports is owned by Stan Kroenke, who also owns the teams. He wants a ton of money per subscriber, and Sling, trying to keep your bill under the price of a small car payment, is refusing to play ball. It’s classic billionaire tug-of-war, and you and I are the rope.

Meanwhile, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream have managed to work out deals, but they charge you an arm and a leg for the “Entertainment” tiers. Sling’s whole shtick is being the budget-friendly option, so they’re playing the long game. The result? You get to miss half the Avalanche season while executives count their yacht money. Fun, right?

What Are Your Actual Options? (Because I’m Not Leaving You High and Dry)

Okay, let’s pivot from the doom and gloom, because I’m not a monster. If you absolutely need your Nuggets fix, you have a few workarounds. First, you can sign up for Altitude+, which is a standalone streaming service that costs about $19.99 a month. It’s a bit pricey, but it’s the only official way to get the games legally without a traditional cable package.

Alternatively, you could use a service like FuboTV, which does carry Altitude in some markets, but be prepared to pay a premium. Or, you can do what I do, and just adopt a new team from the East Coast to save yourself the emotional turmoil. I hear the New York Rangers are nice this time of year—I’m joking, please don’t @ me, Colorado.

Honestly, the biggest irony here is that Sling is supposed to be the “flexible” option. You can drop channels, add them back, build a custom Frankenstein of TV. But when it comes to local sports, they’ve got the flexibility of a concrete pillar. It’s like offering a library without any books about breathing—technically functional, but missing the point entirely.

So, if you’re currently staring at the Sling interface with a forlorn look, hoping Altitude will magically pop up in your guide—stop wasting your thumb’s energy. It’s not coming, and probably won’t until aliens land and broker a peace treaty. Your best bet is to cancel that plan and go straight to the source, or just accept that you’ll be following the game via dubious Twitter live streams and group texts with friends who have cable.

Look, I get it. Cutting the cord is supposed to be liberating. It’s supposed to be cheap, easy, and full of choices. But Sling not having Altitude Sports is that one roommate who eats your leftovers and never replaces them—it’s a gentle betrayal you just learn to live with. Sling is still great for HBO and trashy reality TV, but for the love of all that is holy, don’t rely on it for your Denver sports fix. You’ll just end up like me: reading reddit threads at 11 PM, trying to find a single, decent stream of a preseason basketball game. Good luck out there, sports fans. You’re gonna need it.