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YES Network

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Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network
TypeRegional cable television network
Country
United States
AvailabilityNY metro area; nationwide
OwnerYankee Global Enterprises LLC, Goldman Sachs
Launch date
March 19, 2002
Official website
YESNetwork.com

The Yankees Entertainment and Sports (YES) Network is a New York City regional cable TV channel dedicated to broadcasting baseball games of the New York Yankees, and basketball games of the New Jersey Nets. YES made its debut on March 19, 2002. The channel is available in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and parts of Pennsylvania and nationally on DirecTV.

Founding

YES was the product of a 1999 merger of the business operation of the Yankees and Nets, into a holding company called YankeeNets. One of the reasons that the teams merged was to give them better leverage over their own broadcast rights, with the belief that they would get a better deal if they negotiated the rights to both teams together. Two years earlier Cablevision, who at the time owned the Nets' broadcast home SportsChannel New York (now Fox Sports Net New York), became the sole owner to the television rights of all seven MLB, NBA and NHL teams in the New York market when they acquired the competing Madison Square Garden Network, which had the Yankees broadcast rights since 1989. This led to monopoly-like tactics, including the shift of some games to MSG Metro Channels, which had very limited distribution because Cablevision, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable routinely fought over carriage deals. Cablevision attempted to buy the Yankees outright, but could not agree to acceptable terms with George Steinbrenner and his partners.

YankeeNets discussed multiple options with potential partners to either stay with Cablevision or start their own network. The ultimate decision was to start their own network, ending the five year monopoly that Cablevision had held on local New York sports. The Yankees' success in the late-1990s was a key factor in the decision, as they had become a much more valuable brand than ever before.

Ownership

When YES launched, Goldman Sachs owned a minority share of the network. In late 2003, the Yankees and Nets decided to part ways, with the Nets being sold to a group led by real-estate developer Bruce Ratner. In 2004, YankeeNets was renamed Yankee Global Enterprises LLC, which owns the Yankees and YES as separate companies. Therefore, the Yankees technically do not own YES. The Yankees, however, receive a rights fee from YES that is somewhat higher than MSG previously paid. In 2007, the portion of the network owned by Goldman Sachs was put up for sale for estate taxes reasons [1]; the Yankees will reportedly keep their stake in the network.

Headquarters

The YES Network offices are based at the Chrysler Building in Manhattan. Yankees and Nets pre- and post-game shows are produced in studios that are located in Stamford, Connecticut. [2] It has been speculated that YES may move its studios to the New Yankee Stadium when that venue opens in 2009.

YES original programming

YES has also featured original programs, some of which have won local New York Emmys. In addition to live coverage of Yankees and Nets games, and their respective pre- and post-game shows, other original programming on YES includes:

  • Yankees Magazine
  • Yankees Classics
  • Nets Magazine
  • This Week in Football, a weekly NFL highlight and analysis program.
  • CenterStage, an interview program.
  • YES' Ultimate Road Trip, a reality show which combines elements of The Real World and Road Rules as it follows a group of Yankee fans throughout an entire 162-game season.
  • Yankeeography, a Biography-like program focusing on notable current and former Yankees personalities.
  • Mike and the Mad Dog, a video simulcast of the popular WFAN radio show.
  • the children's programs Yankees on Deck (formerly Kids on Deck) and Giants on Deck
  • Boston vs. New York Poker Challenge, a poker tournament matching Yankee fans against Boston Red Sox fans. It is a co-production of YES and the New England Sports Network (NESN), a Boston, Massachusetts-based regional sports channel.
  • Yankees Batting Practice Today, which is an expansion of the Yankees pre-game show, though it does not air before every game. The show's highlight is its coverage of batting practice for the game to follow it, although much of it actually involves magazine-style features. The show also provides interviews and sports highlights.
  • Yankees-Steiner: Memories of the Game, based around Yankee-related, and other baseball and sports memorabilia and co-produced by Yankees-Steiner Collectibles, a joint venture of the Yankees and Steiner Sports Marketing and Memorabilia.
  • Tales of Triumph, an anthology series based around stories from memorable Yankees victories
  • Yogi and a Movie, sports movies and wrap-around commentary from Yankee Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra.

Prior to the 2007 baseball season, YES announced plans for a series called Behind the Plate, which would have looked at baseball from the viewpoint of two former Yankee catchers, John Flaherty and Joe Girardi. [3] The show never aired for reasons not made public, despite being advertised on YES signage at Yankee Stadium.

YES has broadcasted notable Yankees and Nets press conferences live, including those of free-agent signees Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon; of trade acquirees Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez; and the announcement of Derek Jeter being named team captain. On August 16, 2006, YES covered the groundbreaking ceremony for the New Yankee Stadium, which is scheduled to open in April 2009. YES also aired the naming ceremony for the Nets' planned area in Brooklyn, to be known as Barclays Center, and scheduled to open in Fall 2009, along with the Nets press conference for Vince Carter's re-signing in June 2007.

Minor-league baseball and college sports

Since the network's debut, YES has aired select cablecasts of the Yankees' minor league teams: the Yankees' former Class-AAA team, the Columbus Clippers of the International League, and the Class-A (short season) Staten Island Yankees of the New York-Penn League.

Clippers games were locally produced in Columbus, Ohio. After the 2006 season, the Yankees ended their affiliation with the Clippers, and will be affiliated with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (formerly Red Barons) beginning in 2007. There are no current plans to televise games on YES, although the team has local coverage in its own market. Staten Island Yankee games are produced by YES, using the same graphics and talent as the major league Yankee games.

YES also shows Ivy League college sports, as well as live and classic Big East conference games through ESPN Plus.

Relationships with New York Giants and Manchester United

In 2000, YankeeNets engaged in a marketing agreement with the New York Giants of the National Football League. This relationship has resulted in exclusive Giants programming on YES, including Giants Online and Giants on Deck, which have remained on the air after the YankeeNets breakup. In 2007, the Giants ended their relationship with YES and moved their programming to the Fox-owned duopoly of WNYW and WWOR-TV ([4]).

YankeeNets also had a similar relationship with British football club Manchester United. YES formerly broadcast tape-delayed and classic United games produced by the team's MUTV in the network's earlier days.

Other sports programming

In addition to the cablecasts, the YES Network also produces the over-the-air broadcasts of Yankee games on WWOR-TV, using the same on-air talent. From 2002 to 2004, WCBS-TV carried the broadcasts. YES also offers a Spanish-language audio feed of all games through SAP; this feed can also be heard on New York radio station WKDM, which airs a limited schedule of Yankees games.

In April 2006 WWOR-TV began airing late regular season games, first-round and most second-round Nets playoff games when there are conflicts with the Yankees [5]. Nets games previously aired on WLNY when YES had scheduling conflicts with the Yankees.

YES also attempted to secure TV rights to the New Jersey Devils, formerly owned by an affiliate of YankeeNets, but with the team now under a different ownership group, it opted to renew its contract with the MSG Network and FSN New York in 2005.

YES broadcasts NBA TV's daily news and fantasy basketball shows (usually a rebroadcast, but occasionally live in the early AM drive hours) and The Marv Albert Show. YES also airs reruns of the 1978-1981 CBS drama series The White Shadow, which also airs on NBA TV. YES also airs This Week in Baseball a couple of days after new episodes premiere on Fox during the MLB regular season.

On air personalities

Current personalities

  • Marv Albert - lead play-by-play broadcaster for Nets games
  • Michelle Beadle - host, YES' Ultimate Road Trip; correspondent, Yankees on Deck
  • Keith Byars - co-host of This Week in Football
  • Tim Capstraw - alternate Nets game analyst
  • Howard Cross - co-host of This Week in Football
  • Gordon Damer - fill-in studio host
  • Ian Eagle - alternate play-by-play broadcaster for Nets games
  • John Flaherty - Yankees sideline reporter and game/studio analyst
  • Joe Girardi - Yankees sideline reporter and game/studio analyst
  • Mark Jackson - Nets game analyst
  • Kimberly Jones - Yankees clubhouse reporter
  • David Justice - Yankees studio analyst; host of Yankees on Deck
  • Michael Kay - lead play-by-play broadcaster for Yankees games; host of CenterStage
  • Al Leiter - Yankees game/studio analyst
  • Bob Lorenz - lead studio host
  • Bobby Murcer - Yankees game analyst/studio analyst
  • Gary Myers - co-host of This Week in Football
  • Nancy Newman - fill-in studio host and reporter
  • Paul O'Neill - Yankees game/studio analyst
  • Larry Pasquale - contributor for This Week in Football
  • Chris Shearn - producer/on-air wrap-around host of Mike and the Mad Dog; host of Yankees Batting Practice Today; sideline reporter for college game broadcasts
  • Ken Singleton - Yankees game analyst/alternate play-by-play
  • Jim Spanarkel - Nets game/studio analyst
  • John Sterling - host of Yankeeography and Yankees Classics
  • Tom Verducci - contributor for Yankees Hot Stove

Since the launch of YES in 2002, the voice of longtime Yankee Stadium public address announcer Bob Sheppard has been featured in station IDs and upcoming schedules.

Former on air personalities

Controversy

A dispute over being carried by Cablevision, who attempted to purchase the Yankees in 1998 and carried the team's games on MSG Network, at the time of the channel's launch led to a year without Yankee games for all Cablevision subscribers until New York State's government stepped in and negotiated a temporary deal. The two sides eventually signed a long-term carriage contract in 2004. Ironically, when MSG first signed its TV deal with the Yankees, Cablevision (which owned SportsChannel New York) and MSG also had a lengthy carriage dispute.

Dish Network remains the only cable or satellite provider in the New York City area not to carry YES, and has indicated that it will not offer YES unless YES asks for a lower subscription fee.[6] YES, however, has a most favored nation clause with all of its cable and satellite operators. If YES lowered its price for one operator, it would void all other contracts. Ironically, YES minority owner Goldman Sachs also has an ownership stake in Dish Network parent Echostar.

In 2003, now-former Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer said some negative things in the media about owner George Steinbrenner. In response, Steinbrenner is rumored to have ordered YES not to show Zimmer on camera during its Yankee cablecasts.[7]

In April 2005, YES declined to broadcast pre-game Opening Day festivities celebrating the Boston Red Sox' 2004 World Championship prior to a Yankees-Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Instead, a fixed camera shot was focused tightly on correspondent Kimberly Jones as she described in general terms the events surrounding her; afterwards, YES was roundly criticized for the censorial move. Ironically, Yankees players not only witnessed the ceremonies, but graciously applauded them from the top steps of their dugout. [8]

During the 2005 season, local New York newspapers reported that the post-game questions asked to Yankees manager Joe Torre by Jones were being sent to her by top-level team executives (quite possibly on directives from Steinbrenner), and that Torre did not feel comfortable answering them. Since the 2006 season Torre, who had been paid a fee by YES to be interviewed after each Yankees game since the network's inception, did not have a post game interview specifically for the YES Network. YES must now send its reporter to his regular session with other media outlets.

YES Network HD

In September 2005, YES introduced a high definition version of the network, available through RCN, Time Warner Cable, Comcast and Cablevision among other providers. On April 1, 2007, YES Network launched a full-time high definition simulcast of the channel. Yankees and Nets games, in addition to studio shows, are now broadcast in HD.

Trivia

  • During every Yankee home game telecast, the performance of God Bless America, preceded by a patriotic speech by Bob Sheppard, is shown before going to commercial break for the seventh inning stretch.
  • When the network launched in 2002, the domain http://yesnetwork.com was registered by a seminar training company called the Yes! Network. YES temporarily used the domain http://yesnetworktv.com, before making a deal with the Yes! Network, who moved to the new domain http://yesmidwest.com.
  • Early in the 2006 season, website design and maintenance of yesnetwork.com was taken over by MLB, who operates websites from other team-owned regional sports networks including the Mets' SportsNet New York, the Cleveland Indians' SportsTime Ohio, and the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, whose ownership is shared by the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals. As a result, YES is able to show a limited amount of game highlights on its website, in addition to post-game interviews.
  • On air promos for CenterStage end with the guest saying, "Only on YES." This tagline is also used for other on-air promos on the network.

References

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