Yankees fans in the tri-state area breathed a sigh of relief after YES Network and Comcast came to an 11th-hour deal to avert a blackout of the regional sports network on the cable provider.
A little more than an hour before the 11:59 p.m. deadline, YES and Comcast released a joint statement that the two sides “reached an agreement for continued distribution of the YES Network.”
The two sides have been locked in a tense standoff related to carriage fees, with the cable provider wanting to move YES Network out of the basic cable tier to a higher-priced digital tier and the RSN resisting the move.
Full details of the deal were not released, though it would appear that YES Network will remain in the expanded basic tier under the new agreement.
FCC chairman Brendan Carr said in a post on X that he was “pleased” that Comcast and YES came to an agreement.
“Going dark wouldn’t have been in anyone’s interest. Thank you to all involved for your good faith efforts!’ he wrote.
The agreement came after the two sides pushed back a deadline set for last week to Monday night just before midnight in order for Comcast subscribers to watch the opening weekend of the Yankees season.
The carriage deal had expired back on Sept. 30, however, the two sides kept negotiations going since then through a number of unofficial extensions, Sportico reported.
The deal also helps prevent Nets fans who are Comcast customers from dealing with disruptions.
YES Network is available on expanded basic tiers on Optimum, Verizon Fios and Direct TV and moving them to a higher-priced digital tier would have cost Yankees fans roughly $20 per month more than Mets fans would have to pay, The Post reported last week.
According to a New Jersey government report, Comcast served approximately 878,797 cable subscribers in the Garden State as of January 2023, while the cable provider doesn’t give out exact subscriber numbers for the Empire State and Connecticut.
Nielsen figures showed that ratings for Yankees games on YES Network among Comcast homes had reached record highs during the 2024 season and saw a 45 percent increase year-over-year.
In a complaint filed with the FCC on Sunday by YES, the RSN argued that the cable provider had “approximately 30 percent fewer subscribers” on its digital tier than on the basic tier.
The agreement comes a little more than 24 hours after YES Network CEO Jon Litner had appeared on Sunday’s Yankees broadcast to criticize Comcast, which later put out a statement of its own to point the finger back at the RSN.
