Comcast subscribers in the tri-state area will continue to have access to New York Yankees games, for now.
According to a report by Eric Fisher of Front Office Sports, Comcast and YES Network have reached a short-term extension that will allow the sides to continue hammering out a carriage deal while avoiding blackouts. YES Network was scheduled to go dark on Comcast’s cable systems as the clock struck midnight on Thursday night/Friday morning. Now, the new deadline for a deal is 11:59 p.m. ET on March 31.
Per FOS, the extension is “at least the 10th in this ongoing negotiation,” which would generally signal that both sides are committed to reaching an agreement. However, “a large-scale philosophical divide remains” between YES Network and Comcast. The cable provider would like to place the channel in a more premium and expensive tier, while YES would like to remain in a more basic cable package.
In recent years, Comcast has been adamant about moving regional sports networks to higher tiers, even forcing its own NBC Sports regional networks to more premium tiers prior to this baseball season.
YES Network, however, is in a different boat than most other regional sports networks. It operates in the country’s largest media market and broadcasts MLB’s most iconic franchise, giving itself more leverage than its peers.
The Yankees play their first game scheduled for YES Network this Saturday, which will be covered by the new extension.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.