The YES Network–Comcast carriage battle that marked the beginning of the 2025 Major League Baseball season is about to resurface, with parity issues again taking center stage.
A short-term contract between the Yankees-controlled regional sports network and the No. 2 U.S. pay-TV distributor, reached in late March, will expire at the end of the month, bringing many of the same issues from the spring back into sharp focus.
Unlike many other distribution disputes centered on economics or how best to manage accelerating disruption in linear television, the YES Network–Comcast situation is based heavily on how the RSN’s carriage compares to SportsNet New York, the local home of the crosstown Mets.
Comcast has engaged in a multiyear effort to place dozens of RSNs around the country on more expensive premium tiers, and sought to do so again in March with the YES Network. That initiative will also continue Oct. 1 when Marquee Sports Network in Chicago, the home of the Cubs, moves to Comcast’s Ultimate tier.
SNY, partially owned by Comcast, is not subject to that and remains on an expanded basic tier, as its current distribution deal with the carrier is not up for renewal—creating a New York–area dichotomy that YES Network executives have been unwilling to accept.
Comcast and the YES Network declined to comment. Since the parties reached the prior deal, the Yankees have played a somewhat uneven season in the defense of their 2024 American League title, but they are poised to reach the postseason for the eighth time in the last nine years.
Similar to the prior round of Comcast negotiations, and in some other distribution talks, it’s possible that YES Network will soon begin airing crawls and other consumer alerts relating to the potential end of availability of its programming on Comcast.
If the YES Network goes dark on Comcast, the NBA’s Nets could be most immediately affected, as Yankees playoff games would be on other national carriers. The RSN, however, does have extensive pre- and post-game coverage of the MLB postseason when the Yankees are involved.
Regulatory Power
The other major factor that bears watching in the YES Network–Comcast situation is what, if any, role that Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr will play. The regulator, appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump, has seen his power across the media business grow sharply in recent months, as evidenced again this week by his significant influence in ABC’s suspension of late-night personality Jimmy Kimmel and in July regarding Skydance’s acquisition of CBS Sports parent Paramount.
Carr’s public comments also helped spur a quick resolution last month between YouTube TV and Fox. He publicly lobbied in the spring for a deal between the YES Network and Comcast, something quickly noticed by other team owners, and last month, he appeared in the YES Network booth after throwing a first pitch at a Yankees game.
“I’m a big [baseball] fan,” Carr said during the YES Network broadcast of a Red Sox–Yankees game. “The Yankees are such an incredible organization.”
