YES Network to introduce DTC services before Yankees’ first game

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The YES Network plans to start its direct-to-consumer (DTC) services, according to the New York Post. If things go as planned, the Yankees’ fans will have it before the team opens its 2023 MLB season against the Giants at Yankee Stadium on March 30.

Amazon, which owns a stake in the Yes network, has been streaming New York Yankees games for the past two years. It is also being looked into by other regional sports networks (RSNs) in New York. Before, the Yes network made a deal with Amazon allowing 21 Yankees games could only be watched on Amazon’s Prime Video service. At this point, it is not clear if the new DTC product makes it impossible for Prime Video to get a similar package of games for the 2023 season.

Randy Levine, president of the Yankees and chairman of the Yes network, said on WFAN’s “Carton & Roberts” in late July that YES would have a direct-to-consumer product “very soon.”

“There is always going to be a balance between digital or streaming, and linear, and you have to provide coverage for all of your fanbase,” he told. “Younger fans tend to stream. You’re going to see a direct-to-consumer package come out from YES, very very soon.”

The Post says that a direct-to-consumer (DTC) offering would let viewers avoid cable and satellite providers, but the Yes network is working with its current distributors to make sure it works for everyone.

Even though the goal is to start the DTC services by March 30, when the Yankees open their home game against the Giants, the Yes network is reluctant to go until everything is ready. This may push forward the start date. The price hasn’t been set either.

Where can fans have Yes network’s DTC services?

Only in the area of the Yes network’s local rights, not anywhere else. Maybe its distribution will expand in the future as the services begin to stream. However, for now, it will be limited to Yankees fans in the tri-state area.

The Yankees are the best regional sports team in the United States. The Yes network also owns the Brooklyn Nets, but when the new product comes out, going direct-to-consumer with Yankees games and more will be a big deal for the business.

It’s not a coincidence that the YES app logo has been in the right corner of the Yes network’s game broadcasts for a while now. Since last year, the Yankees have been streaming 21 games on Amazon Prime Video. So this could be a way for the streaming world to grow even more.

However, according to the New York Post, SportsNet New York (SNY), which owns regional telecast of the Mets’ games, may not follow the YES Network and wait for the 2024 season before making a final call on moving into the DTC space. In November, Madison Square Garden (MSG) Entertainment announced plans to launch a direct-to-consumer version to watch NBA and NHL live games of the Knicks and the Rangers respectively.

Andrea Greenberg, who is the CEO of MSG Network, hopes that the service will be up and running in the first half of this year. Even though it wasn’t confirmed, it was said that the service could cost between $20 and $25 a month, with a discount if you paid for an annual subscription.

Last year, when the New England Sports Network (NESN) began streaming games between the Red Sox and the Bruins, the service costs stood at nearly $30 a month. The network gave eight tickets to Fenway games to keep its consumers happy. Even though the price was high at first, which made it seem like it was meant to keep people on cable, the tickets really made the deal more appealing, which probably didn’t please NESN’s legacy distributors.

Keeping this in view, the YES Network will have to decide how much it is willing to risk its relationships with providers to make the DTC product appealing.

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