Goodbye AT&T SportsNet Southwest. Hello, Space City Home Network.
As KHOU 11’s Jason Bristol first reported earlier this month, the Houston Astros and Rockets will have a new television home. And it’ll take effect in just a few days.
In press releases sent out simultaneously by the Astros and Rockets Friday afternoon, the teams announced they’re acquiring AT&T SportsNet Southwest from Warner Bros. and renaming it. The new Space City Home Network will launch on October 3. The teams said for fans, the transition will be seamless as they’ll still get the games on the same channel.
Editor's note: Video above is from Jason Bristol's report earlier this month
“We are excited to partner with the Rockets, and launch the new home for Astros and Rockets coverage with Space City Home Network,” Giles Kibbe, Astros Senior Vice President, said in a release. “Together with the Rockets we’ve worked hard to ensure that Space City Home Network will bring you the same Astros and Rockets sports coverage from the faces and voices you know and love. We look forward to this new chapter and remain committed to delivering great broadcasts for the best fans in baseball.”
“We’ve had a strong relationship with the talent and staff at AT&T SportsNet in broadcasting Rockets games over the years and are excited to have that live on as Space City Home Network,” Rockets President of Business Operations Gretchen Sheirr said in that same news release. “We’ve worked alongside the Astros and network personnel to ensure this will be a smooth changeover for our fans and look forward to the positive impact this collaboration and local ownership will have on our broadcast.”
The first live broadcast of a live game will be October 10 when the Rockets open the preseason against Indiana.
Back on September 15, Bristol pieced together clues online and on social media. You can see his sleuthing here. Now it’s official.