BLOOMINGTON, MN – AUGUST 9: Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke walks with son Josh and team president Kevin Demoff during an NFL special league meeting at the JW Marriott in Bloomington, Minnesota, Tuesday, August 9, 2022. The Walton-The Penner Group was unanimously approved by the co-owners to assume ownership of the Denver Broncos. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Kevin Demoff was fathered by Santa Claus and hired by the Grinch. You may not know Demoff, the new Grand Pooh-Bah of the Nuggets, Avalanche and Altitude TV. But his father's shadow is larger here than that of Mount Harvard.
Short version? Four decades ago, Marvin Demoff, an NFL superagent so powerful he was nicknamed “The Monsignor,” represented a certain two-sport star from Stanford who didn't want to play for the Baltimore Colts.
The Maryland version of events is that Daddy Demoff orchestrated the trade that made John Elway a Denver Bronco, and that our man Marvin played Bob Irsay and Pete Rozelle like a fiddle. No. 7 transformed our beautiful castle from Cowtown to Titletown, and the Front Range hasn't looked back.
Sometimes the story rhymes. That agent's son, Kevin, was introduced Thursday at Ball Arena as President, Team & Media Operations for Kroenke Sports Entertainment. The Los Angeles Rams boss is expanding his range to include the Nuggets, Avalanche, Rapids and Mammoth as well as other play sets in the KSE toy box. That toy box also includes Altitude, the television home of the reigning NBA champions and 2022 Stanley Cup winners.
We mention this last point because March 17 marks the one-year anniversary of the agreement between KSE and Comcast, the largest cable provider in the metro area. The Nuggets and Avs still can't be seen above the latter. In a city that is home to the best player in the NBA (Nikola Jokic) and the NHL (Nathan MacKinnon), the most important three letters in Denver's sports lexicon are not MVP, but VPN.
Throw us a bone here, Kevin.
Better yet, throw us a stream.
“It is possible that we will end up developing a streaming product. It’s possible we end up doing something over the air,” Demoff said. “We hope we can try to find a deal with all the cable providers.”
Hope is not a strategy, big guy. Not when you've left a generation of kids in the dark while they watch the Broncos screw up the place for free.
In a story about fathers and sons, the problem here lies less with Kevin and Marvin and more with Stan and Josh. Like the Kroenkes, who have done more good than harm to Denver residents this decade, except when televisions come into play.
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They don't want to give up on Altitude, even as regional sports channels like traditional cable go the way of drive-ins and Blockbuster Video. When Diamond Sports and its Bally channels filed for bankruptcy, it forced other franchises like the Suns and Jazz to finally pull the plug. Phoenix offered a pay-per-view streaming service to customers in Arizona and New Mexico. The Suns sent satellite antennas, at the team's expense, to every household in the state that wanted them. It was a costly move, but the team's TV ratings skyrocketed despite an incredibly inconsistent season.
“When I check out at the supermarket, someone says something. So it’s not like it goes unnoticed.”
That was Josh Kroenke speaking from the heart.
In June 2022.
This was Josh Kroenke on Thursday:
“There is nothing I would like more than to be out in the community, going to the grocery store, picking up some eggs on a Tuesday morning and not being asked about the situation in Altitude.”
Some things.
First, Josh's father Stan is said to be worth $15.7 billion, according to Forbes.com. He buys his own eggs? Personal?
Second, whatever you've told the big guy at Trader Joe's over the last two years, he hasn't heard it enough.
Or he doesn't care.
“I think that’s the No. 1 priority for all of us as we sit here today,” Demoff said.
“And the first meeting after this press conference will focus on exactly this topic.”
Great sauce! However, it should be noted that Demoff has said many things on a hot mic over the years. The man once claimed about a decade ago that the Rams had no “secret plan” to leave St. Louis for Los Angeles.
They did. Annnnnnnd, they did.
“We all need to figure out what best serves our fans, what gets our games on the air, and what builds the next generation of fandom,” Demoff continued. “And how do we do it so that everyone who looks across the table can be satisfied with the result? We may not feel great, (but) everyone will feel great, and most importantly, our fans will feel great too.”
Actions, baby.
Actions. No words.
“Think about streaming,” longtime Avs fan Jacob Dubin texted me Thursday. “Or move away from broadcasting. I like it when some of the teams show their games over-the-air, like in the good old days.”
“Cable is dead,” added Jim Hanson, another die-hard Avalanche supporter. “Find out streams. But I'm tired of being talked down to and insulted. Or (charge) a flat fee. Stream all home games for free. I definitely just miss over-the-air.”
Marvin Demoff made a deal that changed the Front Range forever. Like father, like son? How far has the Apple TV fallen from the tree?
“I look at the 7-year-olds, the 8-year-olds coming into this arena,” the younger Demoff mused. “They should grow up as rabid Nuggets, Avalanche, Rapids (fans) … this should be the pinnacle of their fan base. So for us it's not just about who's watching. It’s about making sure we don’t lose the next generation of fans by not being on the air.”
It's not too late, but the clock is ticking. Marvin Demoff has made Elway part of your fan cave. If Kevin Demoff manages to get Jokic back into your living room, that might be almost as impressive considering how much stubbornness has gotten through under the bridge so far. The quickest way to the heart of Denver is through its televisions.
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