…for a price. Just hours after The Sports Putz twittered in protest over this afternoon’s Rays/Yanks game being unavailable on his Extra Innings package due to MLB and Fox’s blackout policy, the New York Times’ Richard Sandomir reports Yankee games will soon be available via MLB.TV to fans within the YES Network’s defined “home market”. (link courtesy Repoz and Baseball Think Factory)
The agreement between the Yankees™ YES Network and Major League Baseball Advanced Media, which controls the Internet rights of all 30 teams, will let fans inside the New York market buy a subscription to Yankees games. They will be able to watch on computers, laptops and other devices, giving the games a portability they have not had.
The first carrier to sign up is Cablevision, which will share revenue with YES and M.L.B.A.M. Fans can buy the in-market Yankee games only if they already subscribe to the expanded basic service on Cablevision that includes YES. The Yankees™ cable network is pursuing similar deals with other local cable operators, like Time Warner, and telecommunications services, like Verizon.
With the Yankees deal complete, other teams are expected to follow.
The Yankees™ service is supposed to start sometime this season and follows quickly on Cablevison™s recent renewal of its YES contract. A price was not available.
Doesn’t really do much about most blackout situations eh?