Regional sports programmer YES Network, cable operator Cablevision and MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), the online arm of Major League Baseball, officially announced today a deal that will let Cablevision subscribers watch New York Yankees games online for a fee.
The deal, which YES says is the only live in-market streaming product in professional sports to include games with local television rights, may presage the in-market streaming of games for other MLB teams. To date, MLBAM's successful MLB.TV subscription packages have only streamed games outside of their home market.
Under the multi-year agreement, first reported earlier this month by The New York Times, Cablevision customers who already receive the YES Network through an expanded-basic or higher TV subscription and also pay for Cablevision's high-speed Internet service can purchase a package of YES' New York Yankees game telecasts for live in-market online viewing. Any eligible Cablevision customer who buys the package can watch YES' Yankees telecasts live on their computer throughout the entire home broadcasting territory of the New York Yankees, or on laptops or other portable computers using
Cablevision's Optimum WiFi wireless Internet service. That WiFi service is now available in shopping areas and commuter trains in the New York metro area.
"The Yankees on YES" live game streaming over broadband package is available for a onetime fee of $49.95 for the remainder of the season or $19.95 for any 30-day period, and is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, July 8 at 8:00 p.m. (EDT) with the YES Network's Yankees-Twins broadcast. All games will be streamed in the high-definition format, which MLBAM began offering this year in its MLB.TV package.
