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Comcast’s large-scale effort to reposition regional sports networks around the country is now clashing with one of the top local sports channels in the U.S.
A contract between YES Network, which airs MLB’s Yankees and the NBA’s Nets, and the No. 2 U.S. cable carrier expires after 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday night, industry sources said. Without a deal, the channel will go dark for subscribers in the country’s largest media market. The two sides have reached a lengthy series of short-term extensions and are still talking, but according to industry sources, they remain far apart on several key issues.
Over the past two years, Comcast has placed nearly two dozen other RSNs on more expensive premium cable tiers. That effort has included the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, SportsNet Pittsburgh, Root Sports Northwest in Seattle, and Altitude Sports in Denver, among other prominent outlets—and the company is attempting to do so again with YES Network, perennially one of the most-watched RSNs in the entire industry.
If the YES Network goes dark on Comcast, the first Yankees game impacted would be Saturday for a home contest against the Brewers. ESPN will show the teams’ Opening Day matchup Thursday in a special broadcast featuring Monday Night Football star Joe Buck.
Comcast and the YES Network have a prior and lengthy history with carriage battles, as the RSN was dark on the system between November 2015 and March 2017. The distributor has also kept the separate MSG Networks in the New York area—YES Network’s partner in the Gotham Sports app—off its systems since October 2021 amid a still-unresolved dispute there.
Sinclair, a commercial agent of the YES Network, is handling the carriage negotiations for the RSN. Notably, the tiering issue is rising once more with Comcast, but not yet for SportsNet New York. One of the area’s other RSNs, SNY shows MLB’s Mets and is partially owned and operated by Comcast. SNY’s current carriage deal with Comcast is not at expiration, which according to industry sources, is why the attempted tiering hasn’t happened there, but it will bear watching whether a similar effort ultimately unfolds there.
The situation surrounding YES Network also brings into particular collision Comcast’s more universal stance on RSNs with the unique elements of the New York media market. Not only is it the country’s largest, but YES Network is the only RSN there to have year-round, top-tier live programming. The channel is fronted by arguably the most notable team brand in the entire business, and it has reached carriage deals with all the other leading linear distributors in the region.
Political Attention
The ongoing YES Network–Comcast dispute has already garnered the attention of several political leaders across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut—perhaps most notably New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who called for a prompt resolution.
“Both broadcasting parties need to stay at the table and resolve this dispute without impacting fans,” Hochul said in a statement. “As your governor, I am prepared to take further action if this is not resolved.”
Among the potential steps she cited were public hearings, a securing of refunds for service disruptions, and “whatever else it takes.”
“We agree with the elected officials,” a YES Network spokesperson said in a statement. “We just want to get Comcast back to the table and negotiate in good faith. We are not going to turn off our signal, and we hope that Comcast will not take us off its lineup.”
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