Yankees Fans No Longer Able to Watch YES Network Games on YouTube TV
By Sam Dunn
One of the joys of the streaming era? The ever-increasing ability to watch local and regional broadcasts of your favorite teams without a cable subscription, even from thousands of miles away. Unfortunately, supporters of the New York Yankees who went all-in on YouTube TV are going to need to find another plan.
In an announcement Thursday afternoon, YouTube's live streaming service confirmed that it would no longer carry networks owned or co-owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, a media company that has a stake in a large number of regional sports channels, including the Yankees' own YES Network.
We purchase rights from Sinclair to distribute content to you. Despite our best efforts, we’ve been unable to reach an agreement with Sinclair. As a result, we will no longer offer FOX Regional Sports Networks, including YES Network, beginning February 29th.
— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) February 27, 2020
In the words of play-by-play man Michael Kay... see ya. As if the latest Giancarlo Stanton and Luis Severino injury updates weren't a big enough blow!
It's possible that enough fan backlash leads to Sinclair and YouTube TV returning to the bargaining table, but for now, the Bronx Bombers faithful should consider this thing done and dusted. This decision comes on the heels of another major live streaming casualty, Sony's PlayStation Vue, which was permanently discontinued at the end of January.
Thank you for your membership as we strive to build the best possible streaming experience for you. You will receive an email today if you’re impacted by this change.
— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) February 27, 2020
Folks, a word of advice: any cable subscription login can access YES through FOX Sports Go and the FOX Sports app. But if you're way, way out-of-market, you might need to bite the bullet and circle back to MLB.TV. These are the breaks in this ruthless digital frontier of ours.