21st Century Fox announced an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES Network), raising its ownership position in the regional sports network to 80% from the current 49% it acquired in 2012. The YES Network delivers exclusive live local television coverage of New York Yankees baseball and Brooklyn Nets basketball, as well as other local and national sports programming. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the first calendar quarter.
21st Century Fox also announced that, following the acquisition, Tracy Dolgin, President and Chief Executive Officer of the YES network, will remain in his role leading the network.
The remaining 20% stake will continue to be held by Yankee Global Enterprises. As a result of the acquisition, the YES Network will become a consolidated entity of 21st Century Fox.
Since its inception in 2002, the YES Network 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.
“Our investment in the YES Network underscores our commitment to growing our global sports portfolio with offerings that are exceptional and unique,” said James Murdoch, Deputy COO, 21st Century Fox. “We look forward to expanding our partnership with Yankee Global Enterprises and to working with the network’s management team to build on the YES Network’s success.”
