The
Yankees Entertainment and Sports (YES) Network is a
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based, regional
cable televisionCable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
channel; it broadcasts a variety of sports events, with an emphasis on
New York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
games, and
New Jersey NetsThe New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
games. YES made its debut on March 19, 2002. The channel is available locally in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
,
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, and parts of
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
; it is available nationally on
DirecTVDirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
and in the sports tier of cable systems, and regionally on
AT&T U-verseAT&T U-verse is a registered service mark under which AT&T offers Internet access, television, and telephone services in various parts of the United States. It began in 2008 to serve mostly residences and small businesses in urban and suburban areas.-Services:...
and
Verizon FiOSVerizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
.
Founding
YES is the product of a 1999 merger of the business operations 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; each party believed that it would get a better deal individually, if they negotiated the rights collectively. Two years earlier Cablevision, who at the time owned the Nets' broadcast home, SportsChannel New York (later known as Fox Sports Net New York, and now known as
MSG PlusMSG Plus is a regional sports network in the New York City metropolitan area, whose reach expands to cover the entire state of New York, Northern New Jersey, Southwestern Connecticut, and Northeastern Pennsylvania. The network was rebranded on March 10, 2008.Like its sister network, MSG, it is...
), became the sole owner to the television rights of all seven
MLBMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
,
NBAThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
and
NHLThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
teams in the New York market when they acquired the competing
MSG NetworkThe MSG Network, now shortened to simply MSG, is a regional cable television and radio network serving the Mid-Atlantic United States. It is focused on New York City sports teams...
(previously owned by
Gulf+Western, Paramount CommunicationsGulf and Western Industries, Inc., for a number of years known as Gulf+Western, was an American conglomerate.- History :Gulf and Western's prosaic origins date to a manufacturer named Michigan Bumper Co. founded in 1934, though Charles Bluhdorn treated his 1958 takeover of what was then Michigan...
, and
ViacomViacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
), which had the Yankees broadcast rights since 1989. This led to
monopolyA monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
-like tactics, including the shift of some games to the cable-exclusive
MSG Metro ChannelsMSG Metro Channels were a series of local-minded New York City cable networks which launched in 1998 and folded in late 2005. Owned by Rainbow Media, the Metro networks were founded as a spinoff of the MSG Sports networks. The network was originally split into three separate channels, MSG Metro...
, which had very limited distribution because Cablevision,
ComcastComcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, and
Time Warner CableTime Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
routinely fought over carriage deals. Cablevision attempted to buy the Yankees outright, but could not agree to acceptable terms with
George SteinbrennerGeorge Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
and his partners.
YankeeNets discussed multiple options with potential partners to either stay with Cablevision or start its own network. The ultimate decision was to start its 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 it had become a much more valuable brand than ever before.
Ownership
When YES launched,
Goldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
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 RatnerBruce Ratner is an American real estate developer and is a current minority owner of the NBA's New Jersey Nets...
. This sale did not include the Nets' ownership stake in YES, which remained with the pre-merger owners of the team. As part of the sale, the Nets signed a long term deal to keep the team on YES. In 2004, YankeeNets was renamed
Yankee Global Enterprises LLCYankee Global Enterprises LLC was formed in 1999, and is the owner of the New York Yankees baseball club and the YES Network cable channel. It was originally created through a merger between the Yankees and the New Jersey Nets basketball team, known at the time as YankeeNets...
, 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 SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
was put up for sale for estate taxes reasons;, however, as of November 2010, it has not been sold.
Headquarters
The YES Network offices are based at the
Chrysler BuildingThe Chrysler Building is an Art Deco style skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at , it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State...
in
ManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. YES programming, including Yankees and Nets pre- and post-game shows are produced in studios that are located in
Stamford, ConnecticutStamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...
.
YES original programming
YES has also featured original programs, some of which have won local New York
EmmysAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
. In addition to live coverage of Yankees and Nets games, and their respective pre- and post-game shows, other original programming on YES includes:
- Boston vs. New York Poker Challenge, a poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
tournament matching Yankee fans against Boston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
fans. Airing for two seasons, it was a co-production of YES and the New England Sports Network (NESN)The New England Sports Network, or NESN [NESS-en], is a regional cable television network that covers the six New England states except Fairfield County, Connecticut and Southbury, Connecticut, a town in New Haven County, Connecticut which is covered by New York City sports networks...
, a Boston, Massachusetts-based regional sports channel.
- CenterStage, an interview program.
- Forbes SportsMoney, a joint venture between YES and Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
, focusing on the money issues in sports.
- The Mike Francesa Show
Mike'd Up: Francesa on the Fan is the continuation of the show Mike and The Mad Dog based out of WFAN in New York City that features Mike Francesa. The show is simulcast on the YES Network, under a different title, The Mike Francesa Show...
, a video simulcast of the popular WFANWFAN , also known as "Sports Radio 66" or "The FAN", is a radio station in New York City. The station broadcasts on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio...
radio show Mike'd UpMike'd Up: Francesa on the Fan is the continuation of the show Mike and The Mad Dog based out of WFAN in New York City that features Mike Francesa. The show is simulcast on the YES Network, under a different title, The Mike Francesa Show...
with host Mike FrancesaMichael Patrick "Mike" Francesa, Jr. is an American radio talk show host and television commentator. He is primarily known in his former role co-hosting the popular Mike and the Mad Dog show on WFAN in New York City...
. YES also simulcasts Francesa's nationally syndicated radio show The NFL Now under the title Football Sunday with Mike Francesa.
- Nets Magazine
- This Week in Football, a weekly NFL highlight and analysis program.
- Yankees Classics
Yankees Classics is a program on the YES Network which features classic New York Yankees games.Each Yankees Classics episode is hosted by Yankees radio announcer John Sterling, who discusses the game's impact on Yankee history at the beginning and end of the telecast.-Network broadcast library:When...
- Yankees Magazine
- Yankeeography
Yankeeography is a biography-style television program that chronicles the lives and careers of the players, coaches, and other notable personnel associated with the New York Yankees Major League Baseball team. The series is aired on the YES Network and is produced by MLB Productions . The series is...
, a BiographyBiography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987...
-like program focusing on notable current and former Yankees personalities.
- Yankees on Deck (formerly Kids on Deck), a children's show
- 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.
- YES' Ultimate Road Trip, a reality show which combined elements of The Real World
The Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...
and Road RulesRoad Rules was an MTV reality show that debuted on July 19, 1995. The series, which was MTV's second reality show after The Real World followed six strangers between the ages of 18 and 24 after stripping them of their money and putting them on an RV traveling from location to location only guided...
as it follows a group of Yankee fans throughout an entire 162-game season. The show aired from 2005-2007.
- Yogi and a Movie, sports movies and wrap-around commentary from Yankee Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra is a former American Major League Baseball catcher, outfielder, and manager. He played almost his entire 19-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
.
YES also broadcasts Yankees and Nets press conferences live as circumstances warrant.
Minor league baseball and college sports
Since the network's debut, YES has aired select cablecasts of the Yankees' minor league teams, primarily the Class-A (short season)
Staten Island YankeesThe Staten Island Yankees are a minor league baseball team, located in the New York City borough of Staten Island. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers," the Yankees are a Short-Season A classification affiliate of the New York Yankees and play in the New York - Penn League at Richmond County Bank Ballpark...
of the New York-Penn League. Those games are produced by YES, with the same graphics and announcers as the big league Yankees.
From 2002 to 2006, YES also showed games of the Yankees' former Class-AAA team, the
Columbus ClippersThe Columbus Clippers are a minor league baseball team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The team is owned by the government of Franklin County, Ohio....
of the
International LeagueThe International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
. Those games were locally produced in
Columbus, OhioColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. After the 2006 season, the Yankees ended their affiliation with the Clippers, and are now affiliated with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (formerly Red Barons). No SWB Yankee games have aired on YES, although the team has local coverage in its own market.
YES also shows
Ivy LeagueThe Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
college sports, Big 12 conference basketball through
ESPN PlusESPN Plus, the popular name of ESPN Regional Television, is an American television program syndicator. ERT is based along with sister network ESPNU in Charlotte, North Carolina...
, and rebroadcasts of
Notre Dame football gamesNotre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
. It also carries coaches' shows for Notre Dame and Penn State.
Relationships with New York Giants and Manchester United
In 2000, YankeeNets engaged in a marketing agreement with the
New York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. This resulted in exclusive Giants magazine programming on YES, including
Giants Online and
Giants on Deck, which remained on the air after the YankeeNets breakup. In 2007, the Giants ended their relationship with YES and moved their programming to the
FoxFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
-owned duopoly of
WNYWWNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan...
and
WWOR-TVWWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
(Fox owns broadcast rights to most
NFCThe National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
games; the Giants are a part of the NFC).
YankeeNets also had a similar relationship with English
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club Manchester United. YES broadcast tape-delayed and classic United games produced by the team's
MUTVMUTV is an English subscription based television channel, operated by Manchester United FC. The channel first broadcast on 10 September 1998....
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 Yankees games on WWOR-TV, using the same on-air talent. From 2002 to 2004,
WCBS-TVWCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
carried the Yankees broadcasts while
WLNYWLNY-TV, channel 55, is an independent television station licensed to Riverhead, New York, with studios in Melville, New York and transmitter in Middle Island, New York. WLNY's primary over-the-air signal serves most of Long Island, comprising Nassau and Suffolk counties...
carried the Nets. The Yankees package is also simulcast on stations elsewhere within the team's designated market. YES also offers a Spanish-language audio feed of all Yankees games through
SAPSecond audio program , also known as secondary audio programming, is an auxiliary audio channel for analog television that can be broadcast or transmitted both over the air and by cable TV.-Usage:...
; this feed can also be heard on New York radio station
WNSWWNSW is a radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, serving Northeastern New Jersey and parts of New York City. The station, formerly known by the call letters WNJR, runs an ethnic and brokered format. It is owned by Multicultural Radio Broadcasting, Inc..-Early years:The station signed on in...
, which holds the Yankees' Spanish-language rights.
YES attempted to secure TV rights to the
New Jersey DevilsThe New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, formerly owned by an affiliate of YankeeNets, but with the team sold to a different ownership group, it opted to renew its contract with MSG Network and FSN New York in 2005 on a long-term basis.
YES broadcasts
NBA TVNBA TV is a television specialty channel that is dedicated to showcasing the sport of basketball in the United States. The network is financially backed by the National Basketball Association , which also uses NBA TV as a way of advertising their out of market package NBA League Pass, and partner...
's daily news and fantasy basketball shows (usually a rebroadcast, but occasionally live in the early AM drive hours) and
The Marv Albert ShowMarv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
. YES and NBA TV also aired reruns of the 1978-1981
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
drama series
The White ShadowThe White Shadow is an American drama television series that ran on the CBS network from November 27, 1978, to March 16, 1981.-Overview:...
for a couple of years.
YES airs
This Week in BaseballThis Week in Baseball is a weekly television program, originally designed to show highlights of the previous week's Major League Baseball action. TWIB debuted in .-Genesis of the series:...
during the week, following each episode's premiere on
FoxFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
on Saturdays throughout the MLB regular season.
As part of a multi-year agreement with MP & Silva, YES now broadcasts
Arsenal F.C.'sArsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
Premier League,
FA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
, and
UEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
matches on a tape delay. In addition to airing Arsenal matches, they air select classic matches, as well as their magazine shows, Arsenal World and Arsenal 360.
Current staff
- David Cone
David Brian Cone is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. During a 17-year baseball career, he pitched from 1986-2003 for six different teams. Cone pitched the sixteenth perfect game in baseball history. He also set the MLB record for most years between 20-win seasons. He was a member of five...
- Yankees on-air analyst
- Howard Cross
Howard Edward Cross, Jr. is a former professional American football tight end in the National Football League. Cross was drafted out of the University of Alabama in the 1989 NFL Draft by the New York Giants in the sixth round...
- co-host of This Week in Football
- Jack Curry
Jack Curry was an American sportswriter for The New York Times, who is currently a commentator on the YES Network. Until recently, he was the national baseball correspondent for the Times. Before taking over that beat, he covered the Yankees for the Times. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for...
- Yankees game analyst
- Gordon Damer - fill-in studio host and host of This Week in Football
- Ian Eagle
Ian Eagle is an American sports announcer calling National Football League games on CBS, New Jersey Nets games on the YES Network and hosts Full Court Press, a basketball talk show with former player Kenny Smith on Sirius Satellite Radio...
- lead play-by-play broadcaster for Nets games
- John Flaherty
John Timothy Flaherty is a television baseball broadcaster and a retired Major League Baseball player. Flaherty was a catcher, and last played in the major leagues for the New York Yankees.-Early life:...
- Yankees game analyst
- Mike Fratello
Michael Robert "Mike" Fratello is an American color analyst and a professional basketball coach. He previously coached the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA, and is currently the head coach of the Ukraine national basketball team.-Background:Fratello was born in...
- Nets game analyst
- Kimberly Jones
Kimberly Alicia Jones is a clubhouse reporter for New York Yankees games on the YES Network and a semi-regular talk show host on WFAN, a New York City-based all sports radio station...
- Yankees sideline/clubhouse reporter
- Michael Kay - lead play-by-play broadcaster for Yankees games; host of CenterStage
- Al Leiter
Alois Terry "Al" Leiter is a former Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher. He is now a studio analyst for MLB Network, and a color commentator for the YES Network.-Early career :Leiter attended Central Regional High School....
- Yankees game analyst
- Bob Lorenz
-YES Network:He hosts the New York Yankees Pre-Game Show and the New York Yankees Post-Game Show for New York Yankees telecasts, as well as the pregame and postgame shows for New Jersey Nets cablecasts. Lorenz also hosts other shows on YES, including Yankees Hot Stove, a show that tracks the...
- lead studio host
- Gary Myers - co-host of This Week in Football
- Nancy Newman
Nancy Newman is an anchor and reporter on the YES Network. Having joined the network in 2005, she is a host/anchor for the New York Yankees Pre-Game Show and the New York Yankees Post-Game Show for New York Yankees telecasts, as well as the pregame and postgame shows for New Jersey Nets...
- studio host and host of Yankees Magazine
- Paul O'Neill - Yankees game analyst
- Chris Shearn - producer/on-air wrap-around host of Mike'd Up; host of Yankees Batting Practice Today; sideline reporter for college game broadcasts
- Ken Singleton
Kenneth Wayne Singleton is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports commentator. He played as an outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, and Baltimore Orioles.-Baseball career:Born in Manhattan, New York...
- Yankees game analyst/alternate play-by-play
- Jim Spanarkel
James Gerard Spanarkel is an American television analyst for the National Basketball Association. Spanarkel, who himself was a professional basketball player, was selected 16th overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1980...
- Nets game/studio analyst
- John Sterling
John Sterling is an American sportscaster best known as the radio play-by-play announcer of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. He has announced every Yankees game since .-Early life:...
- host of Yankeeography and Yankees Classics
- Jessica Taff - Nets sideline reporter
- Ross Tucker
Ross Finch Tucker is a former American football offensive lineman, and currently an online journalist for ESPN....
- co-host of This Week in Football
Since the launch of YES in 2002, the voice of longtime
Yankee StadiumYankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
public address announcer
Bob SheppardRobert Leo "Bob" Sheppard was the long-time public address announcer for numerous New York area college and professional sports teams, in particular the MLB New York Yankees , and the NFL New York Giants .Sheppard announced more than 4,500 Yankees baseball games over a period of 56 years,...
has been featured in station IDs and upcoming schedules. Marv Albert's voice is sometimes used instead.
Former on-air staff
- Marv Albert
Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
- lead play-by-play broadcaster for Nets games (2005–2011; now at CBS SportsCBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
and TNTTurner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
)
- Michelle Beadle
Michelle Denise Beadle is a sports reporter and host for ESPN. She is the co-host of SportsNation on ESPN2 with Colin Cowherd, and Winners Bracket on ABC with Marcellus Wiley....
- Nets sideline reporter, correspondent, Yankees on Deck, host, YES' Ultimate Road Trip (2005–2009; now at ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
)
- Leslie Boghosian
Leslie Boghosian is one of the original on-air personalities at the YES Network, starting at its inception in March 2002. She is the lead reporter for New Jersey Nets telecasts and is the New York Giants beat reporter for New York Football Sunday and This Week in Football...
- studio host/reporter (2002–2006)
- Keith Byars
Keith Alan Byars is an American sports broadcaster and former American football player in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and New York Jets.-Early life:...
- co-host of This Week in Football
- Tim Capstraw
Tim Capstraw is a Color commentator for the New Jersey Nets and NBA TV. Prior to becoming a sportscaster, Capstraw was the Head Basketball Coach at Wagner College from 1989-1999.- Biography :...
- Nets game analyst.
- Chris Carrino
Chris Carrino is an American sports play-by-play announcer. He currently serves at the lead radio play by play announcer for the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association, a position he has held for nearly a decade, and as one of Compass Media Networks' NFL play-by-play...
- alternate play-by-play broadcaster for Nets and Yankees games.
- Joe Girardi
Joseph Elliott Girardi is a former Major League Baseball catcher and current manager of the New York Yankees. During a 15-year playing career, he played from 1989–2003 for the Chicago Cubs, the Colorado Rockies, the New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals...
- Yankees sideline reporter and game/studio analyst (2004, 2007; now Yankees manager)
- Fred Hickman
Fred Hickman is an American sports broadcaster who has had stints with CNN, TBS, YES Network, and ESPN. Born and raised in Springfield, Illinois, he graduated Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1978, joining as an original co-host of the CNN show Sports Tonight in 1980...
- studio host (2002–2004)
- Mark Jackson
Mark A. Jackson is a retired American professional basketball player and the current head coach of the Golden State Warriors. He played point guard for the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, and Houston Rockets in the NBA in a career...
- Nets game analyst (2005–2008; now at ESPN)
- David Justice
David Christopher Justice is a former outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who played for the Atlanta Braves , Cleveland Indians , New York Yankees , and Oakland Athletics .-Early life:David was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Robert and Nettie Justice...
- Yankees studio analyst; host of Yankees on Deck (2005–2007)
- Jim Kaat
James Lee "Jim" Kaat , nicknamed "Kitty", is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins , Chicago White Sox , Philadelphia Phillies , New York Yankees , and St...
- Yankees game analyst (2002–2006; now with MLB NetworkMLB Network is an American television specialty channel dedicated to professional baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball. Comcast, DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications have minority ownership of the new network, with MLB retaining a controlling two-thirds share...
)
- Tino Martinez
Constantino "Tino" Martinez is a former Major League Baseball first baseman.Martinez was the first round draft pick for the Seattle Mariners in out of the University of Tampa where he starred during his time on campus. He began his Major League career in and has played for the Mariners, New...
- Yankees game analyst (2010; now Yankees special assistant to the general manager)
- Bobby Murcer
Bobby Ray Murcer was an American Major League Baseball outfielder who played for 17 seasons between 1965 and 1983, mostly with the New York Yankees, whom he later rejoined as a longtime broadcaster...
- Yankees game analyst/studio analyst (2002–2008; died on July 12, 2008)
- Larry Pasquale - contributor for This Week in Football
- Charley Steiner
Charles Harris "Charley" Steiner is an American sportscaster and broadcast journalist. He is currently the main play-by-play voice for the Los Angeles Dodgers Radio Network, paired with Rick Monday.-Early career:...
- occasional host of Yankees-related programs (2002–2004; now a radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Los Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
)
- Kelly Tripucka
Peter Kelly Tripucka is a former American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association from 1981 to 1991. During his ten seasons in the league, he played for the Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz, and Charlotte Hornets...
- Nets game analyst (2003–2005; now a New York KnicksThe New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
studio analyst on MSG NetworkThe MSG Network, now shortened to simply MSG, is a regional cable television and radio network serving the Mid-Atlantic United States. It is focused on New York City sports teams...
)
- Suzyn Waldman
Suzyn Waldman is a sportscaster and former Broadway actress. Starting with the 2005 season, she has been the color commentator for New York Yankees baseball, working with John Sterling on radio broadcasts for WCBS-AM in New York City...
- Yankees clubhouse reporter (2002–2004; now the game analyst for WCBS radioWCBS , often referred to as "WCBS Newsradio 880" , is a radio station in New York City. Owned by CBS Radio, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of the CBS Radio Network...
)
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. 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 NetworkDish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
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. 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. YES minority owner Goldman Sachs also has an ownership stake in Dish Network parent Echostar.
In 2003, now-former Yankees bench coach
Don ZimmerDonald William "Popeye" Zimmer is a former infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball, currently serving as a senior advisor to the Tampa Bay Rays baseball organization...
said some negative things in the media about owner
George SteinbrennerGeorge Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
. In response, Steinbrenner is rumored to have ordered YES not to show Zimmer on camera during its Yankee cablecasts.
In April 2005, YES declined to broadcast pre-game Opening Day festivities celebrating the Boston Red Sox'
2004 World ChampionshipThe 2004 World Series was the Major League Baseball championship series for the 2004 season. It was the 100th World Series and featured the American League champions, the Boston Red Sox, against the National League champions, the St. Louis Cardinals...
prior to a Yankees-Red Sox game at
Fenway ParkFenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
. 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 move. Yankees players not only witnessed the ceremonies, but graciously applauded them from the top steps of their dugout.
During the 2005 season, local New York newspapers reported that the post-game questions asked to Yankees manager
Joe TorreJoseph Paul Torre is a former American professional baseball player and manager who currently serves as Major League Baseball’s Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations. A nine-time All-Star, he played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, first baseman and a third baseman for the...
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. For the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Torre, who had been paid a fee by YES to give exclusive interviews after each Yankees game, ended the agreement. YES now sends its reporter to the regular pre- and post-game media sessions with other broadcast outlets.
In March 2008, Time Warner Cable moved YES from its channel 30 position in the New York metro area to channel 53 soon after the Yankees received city public funding for a new stadium. Simultaneously, Time Warner Cable moved Bloomberg TV to the channel 30 position, all while renegotiating its 10-year contract with Mayor Bloomberg and the city of New York.
YES Network HD
In September 2005, YES introduced a
1080i1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
high definitionHigh-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
version of the network, now available through
Time Warner CableTime Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
,
ComcastComcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, Cablevision,
DirecTVDirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
,
RCNRCN Corporation, founded in 1993 and based in Herndon, Virginia, is the first American facilities-based competitive provider of bundled telephone, cable television and high-speed internet service delivered over its own fiber-optic local network to consumers in the Boston, New York, Eastern...
and
Verizon FiOSVerizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
, among other providers. On April 1, 2007, YES Network launched a full-time high definition simulcast of the channel. All Yankees and Nets games, in addition to studio shows, are now broadcast in HD. Since September 2006, YES has produced Yankees and Nets games in HD for
WWORWWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
, but not necessarily for TV stations simulcasting the WWOR games in other markets.
YES Network is borrowing time on Cablevision's "iO TV 1300" to carry the first baseball game transmitted in
3D televisionA 3D television is a television set that employs techniques of 3D presentation, such as stereoscopic capture, multi-view capture, or 2D-plus-depth, and a 3D display – a special viewing device to project a television program into a realistic three-dimensional field.- History :In the late-1890's,...
on July 10, 2010, when the Yankees face the
Seattle MarinersThe Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
. The 3D telecast of the game will also be distributed to other cable providers.
National feed
YES has a national feed of the network. This feed does not feature live games, but does include both the pre and post game shows. Alternate programming is shown during games.
Verizon FiOSVerizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
(regionally) and
Bright House NetworksBright House Networks is a cable television company, the seventh largest cable operator and the sixth largest traditional multiple system operator in the United States owned by Advance/Newhouse, headquartered in Syracuse, New York...
(Tampa Bay and Orlando systems) are currently two of the cable providers that carry YES outside of the New York DMA. This feed is different than that of the satellite feed available on
DirecTVDirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
in which Yankees and/or Nets games can be viewed outside of the teams' markets with a subscription to
MLB Extra InningsMLB Extra Innings is an Out-of-Market Sports Package distributed in North America by satellite provider DirecTV since 1996 and by most cable providers since 2001. The package allows its subscribers to see up to 80 out-of-market Major League Baseball games a week using local over the air stations...
and / or
NBA League PassNBA League Pass is an out-of-market sports package that allows its subscribers to watch up to 40 out-of-market National Basketball Association games a week....
.
Digital on-screen graphics
- 2002
The New York Yankees' 2002 season was the 100th season for the Yankees in New York, and their 102nd overall going back to their origins in Baltimore. The team finished with a record of 103-58 finishing 10.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox. New York was managed by Joe Torre. The Yankees played at...
-2004The New York Yankees' 2004 season was the 102nd season for the Yankees. The Yankees opened the season by playing two games against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in Japan on March 30, 2004. The team finished with a record of 101-61, finishing 3 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. New...
: Blue diamond, outlined in white in upper left-handed corner of screen. Red arrows, outlined in white, around diamond to show baserunners at their respective bases. The team's initials were boxed next to their amount of runs scored in the center of the diamond. The inning was placed above the score while the amount of outs and current pitch count were placed below the score. The YES logo was found at the bottom of the diamond, disappearing temporarily after incoming pitch speeds.
- 2005
The New York Yankees' 2005 season was the 103rd season for the Yankees. The team finished with a record of 95-67 finishing with the same record as the Boston Red Sox but winning the division due to a head-to-head advantage over Boston. New York was managed by Joe Torre. The Yankees played at Yankee...
: The on-screen scoreboard was slightly modified for the 2005 season. The blue diamond lost its white outline, given a darker more royal-blue color to it. The arrows signifying the baserunners were changed to a bright yellow. The teams initials remain in the middle, now only in silver boxes with their amount of runs scored directly to the right in white in black backgrounds. The pitch count and number of outs changed to white on a black background. A small red capsule would appear next to the team currently batting. Just like after a pitch speed, the YES logo at the bottom of the graphic changed after a home run was hit. When that happens, a yellow rectangle takes the place of the logo in bold capital letters spelling HOME RUN.
- 2006
The New York Yankees 2006 season was the Yankees 104th season in New York, and their 106th overall going back to their origins in Baltimore. The season finished with the Yankees winning the AL East Division...
: During Spring Training of 2006, the on-screen scoreboard changed dramatically. The scoreboard changed from a diamond in the left corner to thin banner spanning the top of the screen. The banner was white with a chrome finish. On the far left of the banner was the diamond showing the runners at each base. The bases in the diamond were outlined in blue and each base would glow yellow when a runner was on that specific base. Next to the diamond were the team scores. The teams initials were found in black boxes encased in a large rectangle featuring the team's main color. Also in the rectangle was the team's number of runs scored in black on a white background. From left to right, the inning, number of outs and pitch count were in small black rectangles. To the far right is the YES logo which would slide to the right to show the most recent pitch speed. After each pitch, or after an out or run was scored, the appropriate box would flash blue to the appropriate stat. After a home run was hit, the diamond would turn blue displaying the letters 'HR' in the center.
- 2007
The New York Yankees' 2007 season was the Yankees' 105th in New York and their 107th overall dating back to their origins in Baltimore. The season started with the Yankees trying to win the AL East championship, a title they had won every season since after the 1997 season, but ultimately they came...
-2009The 2009 New York Yankees season was the 107th season for the New York Yankees franchise. The Yankees opened their new Yankee Stadium on April 3, 2009, when they hosted an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs...
: The only subtle to change to the scoreboard was in the base diamond. The bases were now outlined in black and after a home run was hit, the diamond would turn black before displaying the 'HR' text.
- 2010
The 2010 New York Yankees season was the 110th season for the New York Yankees franchise The Yankees were attempting to defend its status as American League and World Series champions, but lost in the ALCS to the Texas Rangers...
–present: During Opening Day of the 2010 season, the graphics changed dramatically. The scoreboard changed from a bar that spanned the top of the screen to a smaller one placed on the top left of the screen. The bar is white fading into black with the team names in their respective team colors with their score next to them. The bases graphic is on the far right. The inning count, outs, and pitching count is in a black graphic bar under the bar. And next to it, the pitching count, in a separate section in a white background. When a Home Run is hit, the "HOME RUN (Player)" text will scroll to the left on their respective team's color background.
Website
The official website of the network is located at
http://yesnetwork.com. When the network launched in 2002, this domain was registered by a seminar training company called the "Yes! Network." YES temporarily used the domain
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's digital arm, MLBAM, which operates websites from other team-owned regional sports networks including the Mets'
SportsNet New YorkSportsNet New York is a New York City-based regional sports cable network which airs in the New York metro area and all of New York state, and nationwide via satellite. It is owned jointly by the New York Mets, Time Warner Cable, and NBCUniversal...
, and formerly the
Cleveland IndiansThe Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
'
SportsTime OhioSportsTime Ohio is a regional sports network in Cleveland and northern Ohio, launched in 2006. It was created to air Cleveland Indians games, and is owned by the family which owns the team. It is also the cable television home of the Cleveland Browns...
. As a result, YES is able to show a limited amount of game highlights on its website, in addition to post-game interviews.
External links