Earlier this year, YES Network and MSG Networks announced a joint streaming project aimed at “leveraging technical and operational synergies related to YES and MSGN’s streaming services.”
And on Wednesday, more information came to light about what exactly that might look like for New York sports fans.
The joint venture, called Gotham Advanced Media and Entertainment (GAME), was conceived with the intention of providing New York sports fans with a platform that could essentially be a one-stop shop for all things New York sports within the two networks.
In a press release from GAME on Tuesday and provided to AA, the combined company announced that it will launch the Gotham Sports app this fall, which will provide anyone without cable access to watch all sports broadcast on YES and MSG.
Those with an authenticated subscription to MSG Networks and YES will receive the new app for free. However, those without a subscription can watch New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, Brooklyn Nets and New York Yankees games for a fee of $41.99 monthly or $359.99 annually.
The package will not cover all New York sports, of course. SNY is not part of the project because they do not currently have a direct-to-consumer product, so the New York Mets are not included. But it does offer fans an alternative to watch the majority of New York sports without having to subscribe to cable, an alternative that many RSNs do not offer.
As RSNs continue to struggle, we may see more of these ventures in the future, at least in major cities where the fan base is limited to a limited number of teams.
The CEOs of YES Network and MSG Networks were equally enthusiastic in the press release about their intention to “enhance” the fan experience in the local market with this new project.
“We are excited to offer fans in the New York metropolitan area their favorite teams in a state-of-the-art app with GAME,” said Andrea Greenberg, President and CEO of MSG Networks. “With the increasing fragmentation of networks that broadcast fans’ favorite sports programs, the Gotham Sports app provides fans of our teams an easy access point to sporting events in the New York metropolitan area from MSG Networks and the YES Network.”
“The new Gotham Sports app will leverage GAME’s industry-leading technology to deliver a significantly enhanced fan experience and showcase the best of New York sports in one place,” said Jon Litner, CEO of YES Network. “The app, which will be free to our distributors’ authenticated customers, will provide a convenient digital hub for our programming services and for fans of some of the most legendary teams in all of sports.”
