News Corp buys 49% stake in Yes Network

MUMBAI: Rupert-Murdoch controlled News Corporation is gearing up to give ESPN a fight in the US. The company has acquired 49 per cent stake in Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (Yes), the cable network channel owned by baseball team New York Yankees and its partners.

The Yes Network delivers exclusive live local television coverage of New York Yankees baseball and Brooklyn Nets basketball, as well as other leading local and national sports-related programming. The Yes Network also announced a media rights agreement that will keep Yankees baseball on the Yes Network through 2042.

The media rights agreement is subject to Major League Baseball approval. The investment is expected to close by the end of the calendar year.

Following the stake acquisition, News Corp-owned Fox Sports Media Group will negotiate distribution deals with the operators on behalf of Yes Network as part of a larger package of sports channels which would allow Yes to raise the subscriber fee. However, Fox sports channels will not manage the channel nor will provide local or national sports programming to Yes.

The current owners - Yankee Global Enterprises, Goldman Sachs and other investors - will reduce their ownership in connection with this transaction. After three years, News Corporation may acquire an additional stake in the Yes Network that could bring its ownership to 80 per cent, at which time Yankee Global Enterprises would retain a significant minority stake in the network.

Since its inception in 2002, Yes has grown its footprint to include local availability in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and parts of Pennsylvania, as well as national availability on several cable and satellite television distributors. The network currently showcases live Yankees and Nets games to approximately 9 million households in the teams? television territory in the New York area. Outside of the New York area, the Yes Network also distributes a variety of national programming to millions of homes across the country.

"We?ve long been a believer in the unique appeal of sports entertainment. Partnering upstream with rights holders is even more important today in the dynamic media marketplace in which we compete. This is a tremendous opportunity to enhance News Corporation?s industry-leading portfolio of sports properties, while also strategically re-entering the New York market," said News Corporation Deputy COO James Murdoch.

"The Yes Network represents the gold standard for regional sports networks and is a pioneer in sports media. We look forward to working with Yankee Global Enterprises, the network?s management team, and all of our partners to build on a decade of success and take the YES Network to even greater heights."

Yankee Global Enterprises Chairman Hal Steinbrenner said, "This transaction underscores the great value we and our partners created in establishing the Yes Network and sets the network on the path for even greater achievements in the future. We are excited to have News Corporation as a partner. Its stature and acumen in sports broadcasting on a global scale is unmatched. We look forward to the many opportunities for growth and development that this investment by News Corporation will bring to Yes. The Steinbrenner family expects to have a continuing, long-term ownership stake in the Yes Network and we will continue our yearly commitment of fielding a championship caliber team for decades to come."