UPDATE OCT. 6: Cox Communications finally reached a deal with AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, meaning that locals with Cox cable can finally watch Golden Knights games.
Fans can catch the live broadcast of the Knights' inaugural season NHL game this evening against the Dallas Stars at 5:30 p.m. PT. The game takes place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
AT&T SportsNet will be available on Cox Channel 96 and 1096 in HD. Beginning October 7, the permanent home for the channel will be 313 and 1313 in HD on the TV Essential cable package.
ORIGINAL STORY
The Vegas Golden Knights made history Tuesday night, making their home debut as the first major league sports franchise in Las Vegas.
A lot of fans don't have the time or money to see a game in person, but unfortunately, they may not have much luck watching the team on TV either.
Golden Knights games air on AT&T Sportsnet Rocky Mountain, a regional network not normally available in Las Vegas.
Right now, the channel is available to DirecTV and CenturyLink customers.
Cox has not reached an agreement to carry the station.
"I would guess around probably 50 percent, maybe more, of people [here] have Cox cable and they're not going to be able to watch the games because of this war basically between Cox and DirecTV," said TC Martin, a host for Fox Sports Radio 98.9 FM, the station that will broadcast the Golden Knights.
A Cox manager said in a statement,
"We are continuing discussions with AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain about the possibility of adding the network in our Las Vegas market. We hope that we can come to an agreement that allows our customers to watch the Golden Knights, but at a reasonable cost. We know that many Las Vegas viewers are enthusiastic about the Golden Knights debut, but sports programming comes at an extremely high price. As we continually adjust our channel line-up, we must consider the needs of all our customers, not just sports/Golden Knights fans, and protect the value of the products and services we provide."The standoff threatens to cause a rift between fans and the team."
The standoff threatens to cause a rift between fans and the team.
"I don't think it's fair that you're a local and you're not able to watch your home team," said Aundray Tucker, a fan.
Martin says he's seen negotiations like this reach conclusions at the eleventh hour before, and he remains hopeful fans with Cox service will be able to watch the season opener.
The regular season begins next Friday.
