As the reigning American League champion New York Yankees prepare to open their regular-season schedule of games this week, fans in the New York metropolitan area could be left in the dark. The carriage agreement between YES Network and Comcast Corporation is slated to expire on Tuesday, which could result in consumers being unable to view Yankees baseball as the regional sports network presents games beginning Friday. The two entities previously had a dispute that lasted for parts of two years, leaving more than 900,000 households with no way to view Yankees baseball or other broadcasts on the network.
Unlike the last time both sides did not reach a deal, fans are now able to subscribe directly to the YES Network through the Gotham Sports App. YES Network and MSG Networks partnered to create the Gotham Advanced Media and Entertainment joint venture that has created direct-to-consumer streaming functionalities for both New York-based regional sports networks. In addition to Yankees baseball, YES Network is also the television home of the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty.
“The extension of an agreement between Comcast Network and the YES Network is set to expire on Tuesday, and Yankees and Nets fans will be the hardest hit,” New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
“Fans should never be caught in the crossfire of a corporate dispute. Both broadcasting parties need to stay at the table and resolve this dispute without impacting fans. As your Governor, I am prepared to take further action if this is not resolved, as I’ve done in the past, by directing New York’s Department of Public Service to call public hearings on how consumers are being affected, securing refunds for disruptions and whatever else it takes to resolve broadcasting disruptions for all New Yorkers.”
An outage of YES Network on Comcast services would mark a second regional sports network being removed from a cable provider in the calendar year. MSG Networks and Altice USA were initially unable to extend their deal, resulting in a 52-day dispute before reaching a multiyear deal to restore service.
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