How does selling the YES network affect Yankees fans?

It may have disappeared before your eyes, but on Thursday, August 29, the New York Yankees made an acquisition that could redefine the daily experience of the average Yankee supporter. No, they did not sign a pitcher, nor claimed a waiver, nor even activated a player out of the IL.

They bought the YES network.

The Yankees entertainment and sports network, more commonly known as the YES network, saw the start of the 1998 merger of the business mergers, known as YankeeNets, into the business activities of the Yankees. New York and New Jersey Nets, Cablevision and a team control over their broadcast rights. Although the Yankees lent their name to the chain, the Yankees and Nets were both major investors in the company, including Goldman Sachs, the Quadrangle group and many private investors. In 2003, the New Jersey Nets were sold and YankeeNets was renamed Yankee Global Enterprises, technically owning the Yankees baseball team today.

As a result of all this, the Yankees, the face of the YES network, owned only a minority share of the network. In 2007, Goldman Sachs put its share up for sale and, five years later, the News Corporation (News Corp.) acquired 49% of the network. Two years later, 21st Century Fox (which won the YES network after separating from News Corp in 2013) bought an additional 31% to become the majority owner of the company.

As a result of this series of transactions, the YES network has been available for streaming as part of Fox Sports Go for a few years, which has been a boon for those who live or spend a lot of time in a place without cable. This situation could however change soon.

On December 14, 2017, the Walt Disney Company announced its intention to acquire 21st Century Fox, an initiative celebrated by Marvel aficionados and tolerated by those who support antitrust laws (sometimes by the same person simultaneously). Because of Disney's ownership of ESPN, however, they were forced to sell both the Fox Sports network and all associated regional sports networks, including the YES network. Invoking a right of first refusal negotiated during the sale to Fox, the Yankee Global Enterprises have assembled a group of investors and bought YES, giving the Yankees control of their own network for the very first time.

Although originally reported by the New York Post in November 2018, the agreement was officially announced on Thursday, the Yankees issued the following statement.

This brings us to the big question: what does this mean for fans?

In the immediate future, that does not seem to be much, according to Andrew Marchand, the New York PostColumnist in sports journalism. The Yankees will continue to air on Fox Sports Go for the rest of the season. After that, however, no one really knows it.

As stated in the press release above, the Yankees are associated with the acquisition by Sinclair Broadcast Group and Amazon, forming a new strategic partnership. The two new partners have been promising players in the world of sports journalism and broadcasting, Amazon is entering its third season as a major streaming partner for Thursday Night Football, and Sinclair has just finalized a purchase of Fox Sports Network (which includes Fox Sports Go, although they are both well-known, with 21 other regional sports networks owned by Fox Sports) and partner with the Chicago Cubs to launch the Marquee Sports Network in Chicago.

While nothing will change for those watching the Yankees via their cable bundle, the strategic plan for virtual distribution remains unclear. If the Yankees had been associated with Sinclair or Amazon, the answer would have been clear. with the former, they would have continued their current relationship with Fox Sports Go, while with the latter, they would be at the forefront of the growth of Amazon's sports streaming business.

In addition, the press release does not give too much clue, indicating that the three partners "will work together to improve the network and position it strategically to continue to occupy the leadership of sports broadcasting on all forms of distribution". Amazon will play, and vaguely notes that Sinclair will help "manage traditional and virtual distribution relationships".

The key to this relationship may ultimately lie in what makes the YES unique. Unlike most regional sports networks, the YES network is national in scope: all non-video games programs are available for some cable companies in several markets across the country. Although MLB ban restrictions prevent the broadcast of games across the country, the YES network contains a substantial amount of original programming that may be of interest to fans of the Yankees, Nets, Manchester City, NYCFC and New York Liberty. For this reason, the network already has a solid foundation, both in terms of scope and programming, that can be used for various media, such as an online streaming service with original programming close to ESPN + or an app for mobile devices.

All this tells us, for the moment, is that the new partnership can take this new partnership with the YES network. Hopefully, whatever happens, the Yankees will continue to be easily (and affordably) accessible via a streaming stream to those who do not have a cable subscription.