YES Network-Comcast ‘continued distribution’ is not a new deal, per source

Monday night, YES Network and Comcast reached an eleventh-hour agreement that will keep the New York-area regional sports network live on the cable provider’s Xfinity offerings, at least for now.

Awful Announcing has learned that Monday’s last-minute compact does not constitute a new long-term carriage agreement; rather, per an industry source, it is a continuation of the old deal between the two entities.

Late Monday night, just over an hour before YES Network was set to go dark on Comcast’s cable systems, the two sides issued a joint statement:

“Comcast and YES have reached an agreement for continued distribution of the YES Network.”

It is now known that “continued distribution” does not equate to a new long-term agreement, as is the expected outcome during the resolution of other carriage feuds. Instead, YES and Comcast have opted to kick the can down the road for an undetermined period before reaching a more permanent agreement.

There are any number of reasons this could be the case, but the leading theory is the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) impending involvement. On Sunday, FCC chairman Brendan Carr posted on social media that he “would encourage a quick and favorable resolution for the benefit of everyone” before adding, “the FCC does have authority to step in and address claims of discriminatory conduct.”

I’m aware that the YES Network could soon get dropped from Comcast systems.

I would encourage a quick and favorable resolution for the benefit of everyone.

The FCC does have authority to step in and address claims of discriminatory conduct. pic.twitter.com/QtuqS5fGTp

— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) March 30, 2025

Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, including NBC News and the MSNBC cable channel often critical of the Trump administration, has already been the subject of an inquiry by the new administration’s FCC. On Sunday, President Trump called Comcast CEO Brian Roberts a “pathetic loser” in a social media post, adding to the threat of executive action against the company.

Amid all of this discontent between the Trump administration and Comcast, YES Network reportedly “engaged” the FCC regarding its carriage dispute, according to Puck’s John Ourand.

Comcast has steadfastly desired to move regional sports networks up to a more expensive digital tier on its Xfinity cable systems, even having moved some of its wholly-owned NBC Sports regional networks to the higher tier this year. That likely hasn’t changed simply because YES Network is one of the larger regional sports networks in the country, and home to the most popular team in baseball.

What changed the equation for Comcast seems to be the politics of it all. Wanting to avoid conflict with the current administration, the company looks to have decided to extend the old deal for now, hoping that the political temperature will cool down in the future. After that, Comcast will again try to move YES Network to a digital tier alongside the other regional sports networks that have recently renegotiated carriage deals with the company.