Rockets, Astros acquire regional network from Warner Bros. Discovery

Houston has a new regional sports network... sort of.

The NBA's Rockets and the defending World Series champion Astros officially acquired the assets of AT&T SportsNet Southwest from Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel was rebranded to Space City Home Network, a clever nod to the city's history with NASA and the names of the teams that now own the channel outright.

In a joint statement, the new owners expressed appreciation that not only will the channel retain the local broadcasting rights of both teams, but they aim to make a seamless transition from WBD's stewardship to their own.

“We are excited to partner with the Rockets, and launch the new home for Astros and Rockets coverage with Space City Home Network,” said Giles Kibbe, Astros Senior Vice President, General Counsel. “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,” said Rockets President of Business Operations Gretchen Sheirr. “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.”

In late August, the media conglomerate announced that it was going to sell AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh to Fenway Sports Group, the Boston-based outfit that owns the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. (That RSN also broadcast Pittsburgh Pirates games.) It also planned to shut down AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, which broadcasts Colorado Rockies games. The franchise may join the state's other regional network, Altitude Sports, next season. 

In addition to several rounds of layoffs in the past year, WBD continues to try and shrink, if not completely wipe out the $9 billion debt it took to create the merger between the former Time Warner and Discovery Communications. The company has canceled some productions for the sake of tax write-offs, removed programs from the streaming service Max (formerly HBO Max) and resumed licensing shows to Netflix.

The network change won't have a direct impact on the Astros, as their potential playoff games will be shown on national television. Yet the Space City refresh coincides with the continued rebuild of the Rockets, who have a new head coach (Ime Udoka) and a retooled roster that may have the Play-In Tournament in its sights.